Chickadee
by Lenipez sideshow
Summary: OoT After some adventures afar it apears Link has picked up a tagalong, namly a trouble making, cocky little girl who swears like a salior. Is she Links chance for peace, or just another target for the troubles that follow him?
1. one

Sorry I messed up the chapies and put ch. 4 in ch.1 !!! Tidus2529 pointed it so thanks! Its fixed now! So read on ! ready go!

Clue: we own nada!

---Chickadee-one--

The young Gerudo guard paced the top of the wall, she was tense and glanced around nervously.

"Kejia! For the love of the goddesses calm down."

Kejia looked over at her post mate, she was calmly leaning against the parapets and staring out over the desert, "I'm sorry Malki its just, I can't believe it.." the young woman trailed off while she smoothed out her new guard uniform, "I don't want to mess this up."

"Well you can't guard your post if your busy pacing around can you," Kejia agreed with her older superior and leaned against the parapet with her.

The sun had traveled across the sky till it was bearing down on them from over their shoulders. Kejia stared lazily out over the unchanging desert; not noticing the figure emerging over the nearest dune.

"Kejia! What does that look like to you," Kejia was startled from her heat-induced gaze and looked were Malki was pointing.

"Is it a spirit?" she asked.

Malki gave her a disapproving look," you know better than that you live here,"

"But its not called the haunted waste land for nothing," Kejia shrugged, "think it's a traveler?"

"Must be,"

The traveler came to the large gate in the door, booth Gerudos stared over the edge and waited, they both knew the new orders but neither were to sure about carrying them out.

They watched as the traveler adjusted a rather large pack underneath a light tan cloak of some kind, it was the same kind the Gerudos use to keep the sun off when traveling, and for a moment considered if it could be one of their sisters.

The traveler waited for a few more moments before kicking the large gate several times, the banging echoed up to the guard's ears. Kejia gave Malki an unsure glance; Malki gave a sigh and took a deep breath.

"Who goes there!" she hollered down at the cloaked figure.

"Link," came the deep smooth reply.

"Malki I think it's a man..." she whispered frighten,

"Hush, its alright"

"But I've never seen a man before," she whispered mostly to her self

Malki tore her attention away from the new guard and back to the man below her, "what business do you have?"

Link shifted again, he wished the sun would just go away. He knew this was going to be the hard part, "I am only passing thru and wish to seek supplies and a place to get out of the sun,"

Malki noticed the irritation in his voice near the end of the statement, and was not sure what to make of it.

"Kejia open the gate," she ordered slowly.

"What!"

"You know the knew orders, no visitor is to be turned away with out cause," Malki paused, "but I agree if it was my choice I would not let him in. now open the gate"

Link waited, still scorching in the high noon desert sun, he adjusted his load again and squinted up at the guards, suddenly the gate sprang to life and clanged and clinked open. Link made a dash for the shade under the gate; just in case the Gerudos changed their minds and locked him back out.

The two guards and their suspicious looks met him; he suddenly thought that maybe it had been too easy to get in.

"Come with us," Malki ordered with a wave of her glaive. Link obeyed and stepped out back into the light and Gerudo fortress.

The female guard led him toward a mass of stacked mud brick houses. The whole settlement was stacked, one house on top of the other, like a some mad giant child had been stacking his blocks up and the Gerudos had only carved out the insides to make there homes. The fortress was built in the lee of a cliff and was protected from the deserts harsh winds. A slight breeze still blew and played with the many red banners and flags the decorated the buildings. The place was a flurry of activity, guards in their purple uniforms on patrol and many others going about their business.

Malki watched the man as they entered the fort; he had yet to remove his hands from behind his back, she was becoming as nervous as Kejia had been that morning.

Kejia was surprised when Malki suddenly stopped and waved her the hand signal to be on guard, "show me your hands!" she ordered. Kejia heard the man swear softly and she tightened the grip on her glaive as his right hand reached father back behind him. Malki motioned to one of the near by guards, and the attention of most of the women in sight had turned toward the stranger.

Link slowly brought forward his left hand and pulled his cloak off, it was Malki's turn to tense.

Link watched as the small crowd visibly relaxed, "Hey, Chickadee, still with me?"

Kejia had not expected there to be a small child under the cloak, she had expected anything but that, but there she was. They had been worried for nothing.

She watched Link shake the girl on his back awake, "I'm up, I was a awake the whole time," the young brunet proclaimed groggily as she placed on her own two feet. Link held up both his hands palm up towards Malki. Malki nodded to Kejia and continued to lead them toward the terracotta houses.


	2. two

thanks for reviewing tidus2529 i realy didn't expect anyone to review this at all! yeahiknow the kid is just a bit random but i have good excuses! and its explained in this chapie. so yay ready GO!

Clue: yet again lenipez sideshow is a dork and owns nothing.

---Chickadee-two---

Kejia took in both the strangers; curiosity was getting the best of the young guard. She walked behind them as Malki lead. The man had bright blonde hair, and was much taller than almost anyone at the fort. He wore tan breeches and a darker brown tunic that left his arms bare, which left her with no doubt that, he could handle the hand and a half broad sword hung underneath his beat up pack. There was also a staff tied to the back of the pack.

Still disappointed that she hadn't seen his face and doubting she would get a peek from her position, her attention shifted to the girl. The small girl had long tangled brunette hair. She was very petit and came up just above the man's waist; Kejia didn't think she looked older than five. She had black baggy pants that seemed a little too big for her; they were almost the same style, as Kejia's except the girls didn't tie at the bottom. The guard wasn't sure what she had for a shirt but what ever it was it was red and tied in the back.

Malki lead them into a clay brick building and thru many long twisting hallways. The girl stayed close to link's side, staring at the animal skulls and various trophies that lined the walls.

"Link?" she whispered as she tugged on his belt.

"What?" he replied in less hushed words.

"Were not...captured are we?"

"No...I'd consider this friendly." He reassured her with a debonair grin.

"I still think your crazy," she muttered.

Malki suddenly stopped in front of a door, "you will wait here till our leader can speak with you..."

"That would be Nabooru correct?" link interrupted. Malki just blinked in surprise and nodded as he strode into the room.

"Kejia, send word to Nabooru, I want guards posted here," she ordered in hushed tones

The room was small and utilitarian, but brightly colored. An ornamental bulls head adorned the far wall, and the cloth screen that secluded one corner was painted with bright reds and purples. The room was cool to the point that it was almost cold, there were no windows and the room was light by a small fire burning in the center of the room. Link made his way to one of the many mats that circled the fire and threw him self down. The girl sat on the other side and began to examine her bear feet.

"How are your feet molly?" he asked as he unslung his pack

"Fine" she chirped as she peered around into the dark corners of the room, "I like it here."

"Well it is better than the heat out there," he said with a jerk of his behind him. Molly nodded.

"You don't like the desert do you," she asked as he leaned his head forward and ran his hand through his hair trying to rid himself of the sand there.

"No its not that I don't like it...its just the sand, the, wind and...the sun I don't like."

"But that's all there is in a desert," she pointed out with childlike honesty

Link shrugged, "maybe," he yawned and leaned against the wall.

"You're not thinking about falling asleep on me?" she glared at him.

"Maybe," was all he said and he was quiet.

Molly reached over, undid her staff from the pack, and laid it on her lap. She ran her hand against the cold stone floor and wondered were she was, he had told her that on the other side of the desert was a place called Hyrule, and that they would come to a fortress were there were only women. She wondered if they were there or somewhere on the way.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed before the shadow filled the doorway. Molly immediately poked Link with butt of her short staff. His blue eyes blinked opened and rested on her then to the figure at the door.

"Greetings travelers. I am sorry for the delay and that no evening meal was brought. But you must forgive us, my people are wary these days," a woman's voiced said in a very strained and polite voice. The woman stepped forward into the firelight; molly admired her large white silk harem pants, and the many jewels she wore. The woman's gaze though was locked on link.

"Good to see you again Nabooru," he said standing. Molly watched the strange woman's whole demeanor change, from the difficult role of polite diplomat to, a rough desert worn thief.

Nabooru crossed her arms and over her shoulders yelled, "Is there any reason in particular that I was not told exactly who my visitor was?"

The guard out side jumped and came to the door, "no mam."

Nabooru sighed, "well...dismissed," she made a shooing motion with her hands and turned backed to Link, "And what brings you here? I was expecting you back."

"Passing thru," he said.

"Any particular reason," She tried to pry.

"Nope."

"You always been a horrible liar," she informed him with a cocked eyebrow.

Link shrugged and changed the subject, "so how's this place?"

"Good, thing are still being rebuilt and..." Molly tried to pay attention to their conversation, she really did, but her feet began to throb. They had gotten so bad that day that link had had to carry her. She listened to them talk about the people and places she had never heard off, the cool stone on her cheek tempted her and she was soon asleep.

Link had noticed that molly was being unusually quiet and stole a glance at her and found she was passed out next to the fire. He didn't blame her, they had been walking since last night, and she hadn't stopped till mid morning.

Nabooru's voice brought him out of his memories of the desert crossing, "Is she yours?" she asked in a caring way that he had not heard her use before.

It took him a moment for the full meaning of the question to sink in. "No,"

He answered, "just s stray."

Nabooru was not sure which answer she had been expecting, but was eager to follow thru with her curiosity.

"Were did you pick her up?" she asked with that same uncommon tone in her voice.

"Now there's a long story," Link said with a chuckle.

The sage gave him a look, "give me the long and short of it."

"Well you've heard about the wars to the west?" Nabooru nodded and he continued, "I got mixed up with that," Link rushed into the next sentence so as the sage could not question him further about it, "and then I met her older sister," he saw the look on Nabooru's face, "goddess Nabooru not like that! I was fourteen!"

"..."

"_Her Fiancé _was killed during the whole thing and when the whole thing blow over she had a son by him."

"And," Nabooru prompted regaining her composure after being accused of having her head in the gutter.

"She told me before the birth that she would name me the god father..." he paused for a moment and his brow furrowed, "she and the baby died during birth. That left molly an orphan. And being the god father to her sisters child whether they be dead or not the village deemed her to me and my custody, and she's tagged along ever since."

"I see...so how old is she now, four or five," the sage ask with concern, knowing that it was never safe for any one to travel with any one such as himself who had such a knack for finding trouble whether he intended to or not.

"Don't let her hear you say that, she'll throw a royal fit. In her own words, she's ten and half. Don't let her size fool you, she can take care of her self and the cockiest thing ever to lay foot in my presence. "

"She seemed pretty innocent to me," Nabooru commented doubtfully.

"Yep, completely innocent and swears like a sailor."

"I'm not liking what I'm hearing," she said with concern again.

"Never said I was much a parental figure," he said with a shrugged

"Well.." Nabooru said as she rose to her feet, "it's getting late." Link wondered how she could tell, the room had no windows. "Well, it real is good to know you've come home..." she paused for a moment as if unsure of what to say. "I'll see you in the morning." She finished quickly and left with long strides.

Link propped himself back against the wall and fell back into a familiar light sleep.


	3. three

I still haven't the slightest as to what I'm doing here... oh yes I remember, entertain myself. Yep yep yep, lalalala! I really shouldn't have eaten that pie. Huh what did u say Zeik? stares at plastic lizard no? Really? You think I should type the chapter? you think my reviewers like it! really?What a good muse you are!

Clue: don't mind her, this happens often. Though I'll never be quit sure if she's just hyper or if she's lost it.

I haven't lost any thing! Shoves zeik's tail into mouth and begins to type

Clue: sigh any way lenipez sideshow owns nothing.

Hey, you didn't insult me! Hugs

Clue: AHHHHHH get it offameeeeeeeeeee

---Chickadee-three---

Molly woke that morning in that subtle way that once you are fully conscious you still haven't figured out your awake yet. It wasn't until she heard the sound of feet scraping stone that she sat up from her comfortable half sleep.

The room was still dark, and the fire had burned out, but early morning sunlight shone in thru the doorway from some unknown window. She looked over to the far wall and then around the room, Link was nowhere to be found.

"Danmit all if he's trying to leave me here...." She muttered as she looked around again, she trailed of though as she found the large pack still stowed in the corner. Her aggravation left her as quickly as it had come; she collected her staff and made her way to the door.

Kejia yawned as she took her post across from the visitors' rooms. She was slightly startled when the small girl emerged from the dark room. Kejia bent down too the girls eye level, "hey wittle girl, wise and shine." She said in a happy yet disgustingly sweet baby talk.

Molly could only roll her eyes and curse her stature, she was quite used to this reaction, "good morning to you too, I think," she added in a soft after thought.

"Are you losty wosty?" Kejia continued in the horrible baby talk.

"No, but have you seen link? He's about three times my height, blonde, kinda dense sometimes," she said with an air sarcasm.

Kejia was taken aback be the small girl, she had never been very good with children any way. She had seen others talk to small children like that before, but for some reason it wasn't working. "Um...I think he's out at the archery field," she said in her normal voice.

Molly chirped a thanks and was glad the guard wasn't to dim. She made her way down the hall to the right; which opened up to the out side. A few steps lead down to a stone patio were another guard dressed in purple stood. Molly skipped over to ask directions

A few moments later at the archery field......

"One hundred,"

"Fifty?"

"Fifty five"

"Forty five!"

"Seventy!"

"Thirty, "

Molly watched as link haggled with the sales woman. The stall she stood in was lined with arrows and bows of many different styles and makes, and filled with the strong sent of cedar or some other wood. It was situated in a long field, which had been tramped hard by the hooves of many horses over the years, and was surrounded by what seemed to molly like hundreds of targets.

She spotted the large re-curve bow leaning against the stall near links side; she discreetly relieved them off and examined it, neither of hagglers had yet to notice her.

The bow was plain and wooden with a black leather grip and one of those little arrow guides. She stood it on end and it came up a little past her chin. She held the over sized bow out in I front of her as she had seen others do and pulled the bowstring. Well she tried at least.

She cocked it back to just in front of her nose and could pull no father, she tugged and yanked and strained. She dropped the bow to the ground place one bare foot on the grip, grabbed the bowstring again with both hands and pulled. She managed to pull it back father than before, but she was determined to pull it out it's full potential.

Link pushed the rupees across the stall counter, he grinned at his welled earned bargain and reached for his new bow, his hand closed on air. He stepped back and looked at the stall wall in confusion then a familiar voice was heard, "goddess damit it all to hell, this piece of shit! Just like him to buy somthin..."

Link turned just in time to see molly lose her grip on the bowstring, it vibrated in an angry way and molly shoved two fingers into her mouth.

"What the hell are you doing Chickadee?" he asked as he crossed his arms and walked towards her.

"Trying to get your defective piece of...." She trailed off as link retrieved his bow, pulled the bowstring back and brought it to his ear.

"Looks fine to me." He said extending his pointer finger and taking careful aim at one of the targets and firing. The bowstring made another angry twang that almost covered Links soft curse, almost.

"What?" molly asked as he shook his hand.

"Nothing,"

"Liar," she answered and made a grab for his arm, where a large red welt was forming.

Molly went into hysterical laughter, "see...told you it was defective...it bites." She continued laughing while he grumbled about dry firing and archer's gloves.

He turned and walked back to the stall and even the sales woman was holding back giggles.

"How many arrows you gonna give me with this thing?" he asked trying to divert the subject.

"None," the Gerudo broke into giggles again, "you only bought the bow!" link gave her a decidedly cold stare.

"Its not like he be any good at it any way, it bite him last time and he wasn't even firing!" molly chirped with all the merriment Link was lacking.

"Here I'll give you one," she pushed an arrow with blue fathers across the counter.

He picked it up, looked at it and then back at the Gerudo. "What in the..." he trailed off seeming to be seething now, then in an eerily calm voice, "what's it going to take to get some arrows lady."

The Gerudo archer seemed not to notice the edge in his voice and leaned over the counter and pointed down the coarse to the farthest target, "hit that and you can have as many as your quiver can fit," she told him with a smug look.

Link took the arrow and walked off to the center of the course. He held the bow out in front of him with his finger extend as before but didn't draw.

Molly giggled as he grumbled about these kinds of things only happen to him, "you've got angry now lady; he'll probably manage to do now."

"You think?" the lady asked curios to see if he stood up to the girl's standard.

Link shut one eye and looked down along the end of his finger. He stiffened his body and put the exact position to memory. Then with a deft motion he brought the bow down to his side, cocked the arrow onto the string and drew it back. He rose back to the up right position, left hand and arrow shaft by his ear and with out aiming released.

The Gerudo sales lady blinked a few times, it had happened all together to fast. "Go check the target Chickadee," Link ordered as he came back to the stalls counter. Molly was off like a shot with out compliant.

Molly came running back; red in the face and panting, "clean bulls eye," she said with a grin.

"Ha! I can't believe!" she exclaimed, as she turned to retrieve his well-earned arrows.

Link now had a rather smug smiled now and looked quite pleased with himself. "Do have any with green feathers?" he asked in cocky kind of way.

She didn't respond but moved to the other side of the stall and returned with arrows of the requested color. He inspected them; which resulted in a small grin appearing on his face that obviously spelt the word _sweet_.

He then looked at the twenty arrows on the counter disapprovingly, "you said as many as my Quiver could carry,"

"Yeah and.."

"Mine holds fifty,"

She gave him a You-got-to-be-kidding-me look, shrugged and brought back thirty more. She pushed them across with a sly smile, "any way nice shooting hotshot."

He just smiled and turned back to molly, "you gonna help me or what?"

Link had just deposited the arrows into his old quiver; which had been shoved in the bottom of the pack for over two months, since his last bow had been snapped. He had left it and his bow in the small dark room with the rest of their stuff and was back in the hallway out side of it, molly at his heels.

"We outa here yet," she asked as she skipped down the hall behind him.

"Nope, not yet."

Molly spent the rest of the day tagging along behind link as he bought, bargained and bartered for traveling supplies. These included new more covering clothing for molly.

"Put it on NOW," he said sternly.

"But its hot out!" molly whined out.

"Don't make me put this on you," he countered. Molly complied then; she had learned long ago that vague threats were nobody's friend.

Like most things she had worn during her life, it was a little big.

"That works," link mumbled as he pulled the white long sleeve shirt off over her head. 'Sure,' he thought to himself, "it makes her look like a dork with such a big red collar, but it'll do. Plus she probably deserves it.'

Link then went off in search of Nabooru; Molly lost interest early on in the search and wandered back to the room. She sat down Indian style and looked about again, she was really starting to hate the dark room, for no particular reason other than it was to dark. Realizing there was absolutely nothing to do in the dark hole of a room, she went down the hall way and out side.

She heard a shout and the clatter of wood of on wood. Molly peered down the side of the stacked buildings to the plaza below; two women were sparing, twirling and spinning with complicating thrusts, blocks and counter blocks; all the while their glaives glinting in the setting sun.

Molly stared transfixed as the whirling, glinting mock battle continued, till one woman was knocked down with a shout.

Kejia stared at Malki with malice, and jumped back up with a vertical slash, Malki blocked, side stepped and attempted to strike her in the lower back with the butt of her weapon. Kejia whirled, causing Malki to duck and thwart her attempts to carry out the blow; so instead, she carried out her momentum toward the younger guards shins. Kejia brought her glaive edge first into the ground beside her foot, Malki's struck it with an echoing thwap.

Kejia reached out a hand to Malki, she took it and Kejia heaved up from her crouching position. The two took their seats on a near by crate, "that was good," Malki complemented thru pants. Kejia only grunted and the two were silent while they caught their breaths.

"Ready to go again?" Malki asked as she stood, Kejia nodded and stood.

"Me to!" a voice came from their left, the two Gerudos' head's snapped toward the voice. They were met by none other than a very innocent looking molly, standing with her staff held horizontally behind her.

She blinked her big green eyes and pouted, "please!" Malki looked at Kejia, who looked at molly: and for the second time that day didn't know what to make of the young girl.

"Alright," Malki said with a horrible little grin, "come here." Molly bounced in front of Malki and planted her staff out in front of her; it was about two inches taller than her. "Okay shorty, let's see what you got!"

Molly glared at the statement, puffed up her chest and straightened her self up to her full height of four feet two inches. Somehow, this didn't seem to make Malki reconsider her previous statement.

Molly griped her stick more like a sword than a staff; hands widely spaced near the bottom. Malki swung her glaive down at the girl, molly blocked and slid her foot back, the force of the blow made her hands sting. She threw her staff down and hop stepped back; Malki saw the convenient opening and closed in, readying for a vertical sweep that would probably take the brat out. Molly saw her take the bait and slashed out with her staff left to right; they one would if they wielded a sword. She made contact with the guard's ribs with all the strength she could muster, then side stepped as she crashed her glaive onto empty air, grab her ribs momentarily and swear.

"You tricky little bastard," Malki muttered as the girl laughed.

"Your denser than Link!" she declared in a fit of giggles.

Kejia smirk, they had both highly under estimated the small girl, "yes Malki it is a sad day in our fortress when a girl can defeat a one of our guards." Malki sneered and stood up ignoring the growing bruise on her side.

Molly had stopped giggling and was rubbing her stinging hand together, "yes it is a sad day. Are you sure she's one of your guards?" she directed the question at Kejia, but the insult did not miss its target.

Malki looked like she was ready to murder the cocky girl, "Let me take care of this," Kejia said with a smile pretending she had not heard the insult. Malki muttered at took a seat on a crate.

Kejia smiled friendlily and took a defensive position. Molly smiled innocently; and took up her staff and began to spin it around with her small fingers till it made a low thrumming noise. Kejia still didn't know what to make of the girl and stayed on her guard, having no desire to end up being insulted as Malki had. The girl jumped forward and struck diagonally. Kejia dodged and blocked as molly assaulted her with more blows. She struck with one side of the staff then the other, alternating every time; with her hands in the center to maximize the speed she had to strike with. Kejia saw her opening as molly made a small falter in the switch; she struck. Molly's hands stung from the block. Kejia countered, bringing her glaive, with its longer reach, down and to the side knocking molly down to the ground.

Kejia took a step back pleased that the girl had not gotten the better of her, but then the girl just popped up again and attacked. For the third time that day, Kejia had no idea what to think, but she remember to block. Molly led Kejia thru a stream of blows and blocks at a fast past, but not nearly as intricate as the guards had been moving earlier. Molly fell victim to another blow from the shaft of Kejia's glaive. Again, she jumped up again refusing to quit. Kejia wondered how she had so much energy.

Kejia had just knocked molly away and down, "she'll do that all day if you let her," Link warned her as he trotted over with Nabooru following at amore subdued pace. Kejia had yet to get a good look at him and sate her curiosity and was more than a little surprised and distracted by his presence.

Suddenly Kejia's face became a battle zone, as molly's staff crashed into the Gerudo's nose. Kejia let out a startled scream, stumbled back, and clutched her face. Molly waited staff still held in what looked like the follow thru position of some one who had just swung a bat; and that was exactly what it had looked like while she was swinging.

Kejia removed her hand from her face and gazed at the red that covered her fingers, "yes!!" molly squealed, "Made her bleed! Link look I won! Ha ha in your face!"

Nabooru had to hold back a snicker at he girls wild jumping around, but managed to keep a straight face as she addressed her guards, "Malki, Kejia!" the two snapped to attention immediately, "You are dismissed," the too grumbled as they walked away, "but of course I expect tonight's events to be of the utmost secrecy." Kejia nodded thankfully and Malki actually smiled.

When Nabooru turned around Link had managed to calm molly from her leaping excitement, but not from her willingness to fight, "c'mon link lets go! You and me, this time you're goin down," she provoked.

"No Chickadee I don't wanna go,"

"Oh c'mon! Please! I did so good." She cried

"I swear, if your head gets any bigger its gona pop."

"So you don't wanna go?" she asked pouting.

"No, but I know where your going.."

"Na uh!" she shouted stepping back, but it was to late and link had already snatched her up and thrown her over his shoulder.

"Your going to bed," he finished as he began to walk toward the doorway. Molly gave Nabooru icy glares as she openly laughed at her.

Nabooru's laughter increased as molly stopped resisting, crossed her arms over link's shoulder, and continued to glare.

"Damn you link! Your such a bastard," was heard echoing in the Gerudo plaza as the two disappeared into the structure. This was followed shortly by a short surprised squeak from the same voice.

"Don't do that again! Ahhhh! No don't drop me," Nabooru could faintly hear her.

Nabooru also made her way back to the structure, it was getting late, the sun had all but set and the last traces of the sun's golden fingers had disappeared behind the cliffs surrounding the fortress.

Nabooru pondered as she walk toward her quarters, why had he come back, there was really no reason for it as far as she could see, but then again out of all the sages, she was the one who knew him the least. But it was obvious, even with out her sense of spirit her position granted her; he was quite different from when he left. But that was to be expect, but it was more she thought than mere maturing. She fumbled the question around in her head, wonder why he had come back. She could find no answer, though she was the only one of the council that believed he would not return. She had never before seen why he would.

Well.. yawn.. I'm gonna end this here. I was going to write till the point that they leave the Gerudo fortress but I couldn't think of how to end it after that, and I would have been forced to continue on and on and on...well u know how the never ending story works. i would like to thank every one who reviewed, i know its only four, but it realy made my day, earlier i was dancing over one! but thanks really i will continue.

Clue: do realize you just wrote seven pages of this crap.

Its not crap! But yeah I did! I hope some one out there appreciates my effort.cuase i'm proud

Clue: why is this story in the action adventure section?

Haven't the slightest? I thought to put in humor, but it's only slightly amusing; if you ask me. And I use any excuse to write about fighting. Yay! Byzes! R&R


	4. four

HI yall! I'm sorry to inform you but I doubt this chapter will be as long as the last, cause last chapter was the result of me doing all the housework and cooking dinner last, and ever break and space between stove timers I was typing. Yep, that happens a lot, my parental units are building a house (FYI: they're like fifty they're gonna kill themselves down there) and I have to be up here to answer the phone make diner run errands and generally be their slave. But it's all good! I just sit here and write so that makes it all better!

Clue: I told you I thought she lost something...

Shut up clue, imaginary friends are to be umm...seen and not heard? No that doesn't work your kind of invisible to every one else....

Clue: Any way, while she worries about the particulars of my existence, here's chapter 4. By the way, Leni owns nothing, and has definitely lost something, cause she stills sleeps with a freaking stuffed hippo!

Shut up! I love Humpfree the hippo! Pets stuff hippo good hippo...

Zeik: stares blankly

Oh, you're right Zeik, what helpful plastic lizard! I should! I apologize for the cliffy before hand!

---Chickadee-four---

Link had informed Nabooru the night before of his intentions of leaving the next day, and the morning sun found him and his young charge on the stone patio in front of the terracotta buildings.

Molly yawned, she wasn't much of a morning person, and was uncommonly quiet when she passed a sleeping guard who jumped awake as she passed.

They were rounding the corner were the gate they had enter the fortress thru was, when a voice echoed down from the parapets, "Hey Shorty," Molly turned and peered up at the guard, "if you ever grow a couple feet, come on back; I want a rematch."

This vague challenged bounced around molly's head for a few moments, till the corresponding gears snapped into place and she was wide-awake; and troublesome as ever.

"Why don't we skip it! It wouldn't be much of rematch any way, more like a repeat!" she hollered up, she heard the two guard laughing and was about to comment again when she was pulled from behind on her pack.

"Its for your own good, wouldn't want your head to pop." Molly ignored him, readjusted the pack and followed him thru the next gate and out of the fortress.

After walking for a while in the barren landscape, molly began to wish the bright red decorations from the fortress were still there, if only to break up the monotony of the place. Link turned down a small gorge that opened up into a large dirt clearing; a long rope bridge swayed in the breeze.

Molly walked over to gorge and gazed down at the small ribbon of blue and turbulent white. She jerked back quickly and stole a glance at the rickety rope bridge.

She decided she had no desire to die that and calmly walked over to where Link was testing the first step in the bridge, "Link?"

"Yeah chickadee?"

"You know how you used to try and leave me places..."

"Yeah.."

"Well you could leave me here! Yeah I like the Gerudos they're nice!" she said excitedly as her story gained momentum with every word.

"Are you sure," he asked in an unexpected serious voice. She nodded and felt her pack being grabbed and her feet leaving the ground.

Link took the first step onto the bridge, holding molly out in front of him with one hand, "alright then but if you stay with them you'd have to be a thief," he took a few more steps, molly saw the river far bellow her thru the wooden planks and she shut her eyes tight and squealed. She cringed again as she felt the unnatural side-to-side motion of the bridge as Link crossed it. She thought he might have said more about her staying with the Gerudos but she was preoccupied with be mortified.

Suddenly the swaying motion stopped and her feet touched solid ground, Link bent down eye level with her and in the same calm and serious voice asked, "Are you sure you want to live with them,"

"Nope I'm good," she said walking away from the bridge with out a backward glance, "I'll stick with you."

"Damn," she heard him swear behind her as he caught up.

"What?" she asked wondering if she was in for it or not.

" I should have dropped you over the side when I had the chance," he scolded himself with mock disgust.

"You wouldn't have!" she squealed hysterically, "You're a horrible person!"

" I thought you would have realized that by now, I'm not a very nice guy." He shouted as he rounded the corner with out her.

"Hey! Wait!" she yelled as she sprinted to catch up with him.

The sparse rocky landscape slowly gave way to hardy grasses over the newt few days of travel, but had yet to give way to open fields. Link seemed anxious, and set the pace a bit faster than molly was used to. Things fell into a regular pattern for her again, walk all day stop at high noon, eat on the run and stop at dark.

Her feet had recovered from the desert crossing and could now stand to wear boots. It was only after climbing up a steep rise that she couldn't take the rock in her shoe any more, she wondered how it had managed to get in her nearly knee high boots. The rock felt as if it had grown in size over the day, and she now felt as though a mountain was growing out of her shoe and into her heel. When she finally managed to wrangle off the boot and turn out the imposing rock and a small pile of sand; she found the suspected mountain to be a very small pebble, she examined it.

" You know what, I hate the desert too!" she said as she threw the small red rock away, "were are we going any way?" she complained.

"Come here Chickadee," he said not taking his eyes off of something in the distance. She hurriedly pulled her boot back on and looked to where he was pointing.

From the top of their small rise she could see rolling hills of green that swept out onto the horizon, trees grew in small groves and a village could be seen not a days walk away. She looked closer to where he was pointing and could barely see across the sea of green a large dark blob on the horizon.

"What is it?" she asked squinting her eyes, "a town?"

"Its Lon Lon ranch. That, Chickadee is were we're going." He said taking strides down the other side of the rise.

"Why?" molly chirped, following him.

"That's where my horse is."

"Oh," she paused for a moment with a puzzled face, "gut you don't have a horse!"

"Yes I do." He said mater of factly.

"But... I know this is were your from and all but you said you haven't been here for over seven years, wouldn't your horse be ancient!"

"Not if she was a foal when I left," he said with a grin.

"Oh," she couldn't argue with that but she tried any way, "your still crazy."

"And you still follow me."

"..." She couldn't find any thing in her bag of quick remarks so she took a great interest in her feet.

As they rounded the corner, they're path merged with another and passed under an over hanging ledge that jutted out of the hill. Molly stared up at the stone roof and the amount of bats that had crammed their selves into the dark cramped space. There wasn't a nook or cranny that wasn't covered by the winged rodents. She whistled with slight wonderment and the bats answered with louder chattering.

It only took that one whistled note to send Link off on one of his more annoying habits; Molly swore it was some kind of song that never ended, composed just to drive her crazy.

He whistled or hummed the tune in turn, as he walked. Molly quickly had the spirited tune stuck in her head, and soon began to despise what she had once thought was rather lovely tune. He whistled thru several other all to familiar tunes for the rest of the day, Molly didn't complain, she was to busy humming to bother. She knew from experience that the best way to get them out of her head was to just go with it and let the songs run their coarse.

Just before sunset, Molly spotted the smoke from the nearby village and pointed it out to Link. When the path came to a stonewall and turned to run beside it, they stopped. Link started the fire on the grass on the other side of the stonewall near the tree line of a small grove.

By time she ate that day molly was exhausted and had lost every strand of quick wittedness in her brain. She couldn't even comment on the fact that he had whistled all day, or the fact that as usual he was going to sleep sitting up. He had propped himself up against the stonewall and had dozed off into a light sleep.

He bolted awake in the early hours of the morning, but he didn't know why. There was something wrong, the fire had burned out and it was pitch black. He could hear molly's sort breath on the other side of the hearth, and all else seemed to be calm. He peered of into the direction of the woods, and he knew something was out.

That something was watching him, and there was nothing he hated more than being hunted. He stretched out his left hand slowly towards his pack, his hand met the shaft of his bow and he pulled it towards him. He pulled it under one knee, bent and strung it, then notched an arrow. He shifted his waited and silently moved to kneel.

He could still feel the eyes on him as he peered around, his eyes flicking from one side of the camp to the other. He heard a snap dead ahead of him, and a feral growl.

"MOLLY!" he shouted in a voice that was not sound like his own, her eyes snapped open and she knew something was wrong, he never called her by name.


	5. five

This chapter has been half typed for over a week... I so freaken lazy and still so freakin short! So please forgive me, READY GO!!

---Chickadee-five---

Molly sat and stared in the direct his voice had come. He never called her Molly, only when some thing was very wrong. She could just make out his black on black silhouette, she made a move to get up, "Don't move," he commanded just above a whisper.

She froze, like a small animal that's been spotted, her heart pounded much to loudly, and so loud she was afraid whatever it was Link was aiming at would hear. Her eyes darted back and forth to every suspicious shadow cast by the very dim glow of the coals. She held her breath and listened, a low growl came from behind her, the hair on the back of her neck rose. She resisted the urge to scream, but couldn't stop a slight whimper. She bit her lip.

Link could hear paws padding just beyond molly, he adjusted his grip on the bow, and the leather creaked. As if it was a signal, a wild howl suddenly erupted from behind Molly. Out the darkness, a mass of primal fur and fang came flying toward him. He released his arrow and was rewarded by a howl of pain and crashing force on his chest.

Molly watched as the huge wolf toppled on top of him, knocking both over the wall. She heard him shout and wolf continue to growl.

"Liiiiiiiiiiink," Molly screamed, the kind of scream that children use only as a last resort. A whimpering howl pieced the air and then all was silent.

She approached the stonewall hesitantly, in her fear forgetting the heavy breathing was Link's and couldn't possibly be the wolf's.

"Link?" she whispered over the edge of the stones she griped.

"You still with me chickadee?" Links voice asked all to loudly in the silence. There was a heavy thump; like a swift kick, "dirty bastard"

Molly dared lean over the wall more; she could see him leaning against the wall. She clambered over the wall and over to him, against her better judgment and her jumpy nerves. She eyed the furry lump, never taking her eyes of it as she addressed him, "are you alright?"

He nodded, and realizing it was to dark to see the gesture, muttered, "I'll live."

"I'm going to go make the fire, big, real big..." she whispered, eager to be on the opposite side of the wall than that of wolf's dead body. She felt him shift to get up; she took it as her que to jump over the wall.

Link stepped over the wall and into the new light that was being poked into life by molly and her staff.

Molly took comfort in the light and size of the fire and turned back to Link, who had grabbed the nearest piece of cloth and wrapped it about his left arm. He stared evilly at the shirt as crimson seeped through it, as if he could will the blood to retreat and the wound to heal. He had had worst though, much worst at that, he was annoyed mostly that his good arm wouldn't be up to par for a while even if it would only be a short while.

Molly saw the blood but wasn't worried. By rule of thumb: if he wasn't worried, she wasn't either.


	6. six

Sorry I took forever but school started and I lost my muse zeik (he went threw the washed so he's clean now) yay I've rewritten this chapter about nine times, this chapter is kind of important so if your still reading this piece of crap pay attention! Clue: Come on your story isn't so bad, you got five reviews! And some one put you on their favorites list! They did? And they didn't review! EVIL! From henceforth I may own nothing but all those who read but do not review will be cursed with seven days of bad luck. Ready GO! (Remember R&R :P ) ps sorry for shortness, bad muse, blame them.

---Chickadee-six---

The morning rose foggy and overcast, promising for a wet and dreary day. Molly lag along behind in her usual fashion, trying to block out links mumblings about his only good shirt that he had ruined. It wasn't until he had broken camp that he realized he had been using that specific shirt as improvised bandaging. This did not improve his mood.

As they walked toward the village Link kept adjusting, the new bandages over the fleshy puncture wounds. He tried to keep it tight but found it difficult with only one hand. Then becoming fairly frustrated he yanked a bit to hard causing him self to wince.

"If you keep messing with it, it'll never heal." Molly scolded, feeding him his own words. Link shot her a glance and she only shrugged, she became immune to the look a while ago, "Well, its what you tell me."

It was only a few minutes walk till the path passed the first farm bed; soon the path followed a tall fence. In the fog, molly could make out dark shapes that must have been cattle or horses. They past by some medium sized stone cottages with thatched roofs into the town square.

Despite the weather the villagers were out in abundance and they past through with out major incident.

Molly was bored. She thought the whole village was boring, sure last night was frightening, but at least it wasn't boring. She banged her booted feet against the stone of the well and watched the many people go about their business. They weren't the only travelers there, a merchant caravan had rolled in soon after they had arrived and was now attracting a small crowd. Link had disappeared soon after; there was something he wanted to find out from the merchants. She didn't know what his issue was lately, but these kinds of things never bothered her.

The average people soon bored her; she had thought that people who lived so far away from where she had would have been more interesting. Her attention soon wondered to the small wooden gazebo that covered the well, this held her attention for less than an instant. She twisted her body around and peered down the well. It was dark, and deep and she could just make out the slightest reflection that told her that there was water down there.

Since the position was uncomfortable and there was nothing there at all to hold her attention, she returned to watching the crowd. Some one appeared at her side, for a moment she thought it was link; come to save her from the boredom of the well.

She was surprised to turn and see a dark haired youth removing his pack. He looked about the same age and height as link but the similarities ended there. He was slim and wiry, and held himself in a way that reminded her of a load spring. He wore a purplish brown vest with strange looping patterns in a darker brown over a black shirt. But what caught her attention were the bare feet that peeked out from under his baggy fawn pants.

Molly watched him from behind as he unloaded the pack and unhooked the overly large frying pan. She couldn't tell from her angle but it looked like he was polishing it like how someone would a weapon.

She found him far more interesting than the rest of the people in the village. She discreetly moved to sit on the closer edge of the well to get a better look at his pack. It was red and blue with wave and sun designs decorating the cloth. She wondered is the designs were embroidered or dyed. She mentally slapped herself for thinking such girlish thoughts.

At that moment link walked up, "you ready to leave this joint?"

"Hhhmm? Ah yeah!" it took her a moment to refocus her thoughts, "did you find out what you wanted to know from the merchants?"

"Yep." He said as she hoped off the well.

Molly waited a minute as he started to walk off, "so your not gonna tell me..."

"No," he turned and grinned, "I'm not."

"Your evil." She told him as she ran a few steps to catch up. As they entered the crowd she looked back at the interesting man sitting on the well, his black hair fell over his face blocking from view.

Suddenly he looked up, his jaw was hard set and a blue rectangle tattooed his cheek. He winked one of his gray blue eyes and returned to his work of polishing his frying pan.

Molly blinked a few times at the strangeness of the situation.

She then returned to pestering link with in an inch of her life about what he found out from the merchants, when that got old she switched to asking if they were at the ranch yet every five minutes. By the time pestering him had run out of fun, they were miles from the town and ready to make camp, and she had almost forgotten the odd incident at the well.


	7. Seven

i'd like to thank healerAriel for reviewing me! if your reading this lots and lots of thankees! your one of my favorite authors! i'm glad you think i write link well, that was one of my fears when i started! So i hope any one alse who reads reviews! your opinions are welcome and make me type faster! i'm sorry if my grammar sux its cuase i'm dumb so if a sentence is missing a word fill it in, i'm gonna edit this all again soon. cuase we can dance if we wanna leave our friend behind....

Clue: don't sing! it hurts! leni owns nothing, not even a brain,and should be thank full big sucssesful athors review. anyway malon shows up Yay! though its not a mal/link i'de beat her if she wrote one of those.

Hey don't tell me what to write! and i am thankful! and you have a crush on malon you bastard! take this! !plays hypnotic techno tetress song! clue falls over clutching head! leni rocks out!

clue: make it stop! start the chapter! yay 7 my favorite number! ow! my head....

---Chickadee---chapter 7---

It wasn't till almost another full day of traveling that the dark smudge on the horizon developed any detail. A tall grain tower jutted up out of the plains and was surrounded by fences and possibly some other houses, molly couldn't tell.

Link stopped at the top of the bluff and took the moment to gaze at lon lon ranch, which was less than two miles away by this point.

Molly came to his side a moment later and cast a glare at the structure on the horizon, "so..." she asked with all the charm of a long experienced peddler, "are we there yet?"

"Walk that way, and maybe, just maybe if you're not as blind as I think you are you won't run into their wall." He said pointing at the ranch. Molly shrugged at the vague insult and started to walk in the appointed direction.

Link shook his head, 'she gets more like her sister every day,' he thought to himself and followed.

Molly was in the lead for most of the short hike and when she reached the fortified ranch, she stopped and gazed up at the sign. Reading was not one of her strong points but she assumed it said lon lon ranch. The gates were wide open and there really wasn't any good reason to stop except for her desire to try to read the sign. She turned to see why link hadn't walk right past her; he never waited for her so she wondered what was up.

He was gazing at the sign too, but with a more concerned look. "Um, Link?" she asked, tugging on the corner of his tunic.

He suddenly snapped out of his reminiscing and looked down at her, "ah...yeah... the gate's open, what are you waiting for?" he told as if it had been her who had been holding up there entrance into the ranch.

Molly followed link around the corner and between to wooden buildings. She was about to complain that it smelled like horses when a group of white feathery creatures caught her attention.

"Cuccos!" molly yelled and charged after the squawking chicken creatures, "here chick! Chick! Chick! Good chicken, com'ere!"

Link watched as, Molly scampered after the cuccos arms out stretched try in vain to catch one. The chickens were careening around the narrow lane between the houses like maniacs while one chased after them. Molly dived at one, the cucco took flight and molly tumbled across the grass and landed in front of link's boots.

Link crouched down and smiled at her, "so did we learn anything?" he asked.

She blinked at him from her sprawled position, "huh?"

Link sighed, "I didn't think so..." he grabbed her by shoulder and hauled her up to her feet. "Now please just _try_ to stay out of trouble. There is nothing we need more than having you be mauled by horses, okay Chickadee?"

Molly nodded and eyed the chickens in contempt as linked walked by a door to one of the buildings. Molly ran to catch up but stopped at the door, then looked at link then back at the door.

"Don't you think we should knock?" she asked as she began to bang on the door with her small fist, no one answered. Link shrugged and waved for her to follow.

The lane between the house and the stable opened up into a large fenced pasture with a track around it and a tall grain tower on the far side. A figure was just exiting from it as they approached it.

"Malon!" link shouted across the pasture. The figure waved and Link ran off towards the other side. Molly just watched him, he could run pretty fast when he wanted to. White flashed in the corner of her eye, she whirled on the cucco and pounced. She cursed loudly through a mouth full of grass.

"This means war!" she whispered to herself. She crawled after the cucco on her hands and knees; the cuccos had it coming. "Here nice chicken... I'm not gona hurt you... just gonna wring your neck!" she said in the most innocent voice she could. Thus, molly exited stage left on the hunt for cucco blood.

Malon saw some one on the other side of the field; she waved. She sighed, 'another customer, another messenger from the castle, wants me to buy his cows..." Malon ran through the possibilities of what the man could possible want trough her head. As the man got closer something in her head said wait a minute... it took a moment with out the fairy and the green she normally associated with him for it to click.

"Link!!!" she shouted angrily, bring the hero to a screeching stop. "You got some nerve showing up here! What do you got to say for yourself!" link blinked, Malon obviously still had her fire.

"I...didn't do it?" he said hesitantly.

"Like hell you didn't!" she swept past him and he followed while she continued to yell at him, "You disappeared all of a sudden and left poor Epona all alone for over a year! You know that she doesn't let anyone but you ride her! She hasn't come out of the stables in weeks; you should be ashamed of yourself! I thought you had potential as a horseman ..." Link stopped listening to her rant right about here and followed her exasperatedly till she stopped outside of her house door.

There was a pause in her spirited ranting and he seized the moment to make amends, "I'm sorry?" he asked hopefully.

"No. I'm not forgiving you till your horse does," she opened the door and pointed inside, "no get in there and I'll make tea."

Link blinked and the awkward silence was broken by a high feminine scream. Link whirled, and there was Molly careening towards him, followed by a mob of angry chickens. Molly was yelling and the cuccos were clucking and seem like all hell was about to break lose. If you had bothered to ask Molly at the moment, she would have told you it already had.

Nonetheless, link saved the day by scooping her up by the back of her shirt and holding her off of the ground and out of the crazed cuccos line of sight. Cuccos not being very bright creatures soon returned to their calm demeanor after losing sight of their prey.

"Hi!" Molly chirped now that she was out of danger and being dangled three feet off the ground.

"So have you learnt anything yet?" he asked while grinning, he had forgotten exactly how fun cuccos could be.

"Nope." She grinned and craned her neck. "Hi!" she piped at the pretty redhead she saw standing next to the open door.

Malon stood there for a moment, "...Hi?" in a highly amused way.

"Its nice to see you too Malon," Link said with a laugh as he walked pass her and into the house, still holding molly out before him.

Malon eyed him and the girl as they walked pass then looked back at the cuccos, "she wasn't abusing you was she?" she asked the cuccos in a sarcastic way.

"No of course not! They went crazy I swear!" molly yelled back out the door. "Ahhhhhk!" Malon heard her squeak, "you bastard don't you dare drop me, I swear I tried hard not to get into trouble!"

Malon was wondering exactly who this mischievous little girl was as she closed the door and entered her house. Her anger had had been completely converted to curiosity.

"Guess you didn't try hard enough," he said as he plopped her into one of her kitchen chairs and took a seat himself "so Malon where's this tea you promised?"


	8. Eight

Hey there! Here's the chapter, it could or could not lead up to a big exciting flash back about molly's sister and the wars to the west. I'd like some feed back on this in particular. Cause I'm torn between just mentioning it, doing that entire part of the story as a flash back, or write it as a prequel after I'm done with this. So, tell me what you think!

Clue: well your story sux any way and you don't own nothing as always

Oh, ignore him. Aight! thanks for reviewing Linkfan, and I didn't know link had a fear of heights. And how would you know any way? Sure he would have a healthy respect for them, but come on there are just to many high jumping things in the game, and even if he did have a fear of heights do you think he'd let that scamp molly know! I don't think so; he'd never hear the end of it. Hey, something like that would be funny! Thanks!

---Chickadee---chapter 8---

Malon blinked at him. Then remembered she was going to make tea and crossed the small dining area to the small wood stove. "So where have you been the two years?"

"To the west," he said shrugging off his pack and plopping it on the ground.

Malon put the tea pot to boil and started to rummage through the cupboard, "isn't there war to the west? Didn't get into to much trouble, did you?"

"No. But he found me!" molly piped. Malon smiled.

"Same thing," he told her. Molly fake pouted and stared at the table. Link ignored her and carried on his conversation. "So...where Talon?" he asked.

"Oh he had this crazy idea to open a milk bar! And you know what? It's making him a fortune, who'd have thought?" she said excitedly as she took a seat across from him, bringing with her a tray of cookies.

Molly snatched a bunch and began to munch sensing that boring grown up talk was about to take place. She had it in her head that link must be much older than he was.

"Who of thought?" he muttered sarcastically to him self. "So you've been running the ranch?" he asked Malon more loudly.

She nodded, "even Ingo left to help at the bar."

"I see..." he said feeling quite sorry that Malon was running the ranch all by herself. The teakettle chose this moment to whistle and Malon rose to quell it.

The sound pulled molly out of her sugar-induced euphoria but the she quickly returned to munching her tray of cookies.

Malon poured the cups and sat down again, "I hired a stable boy earlier this year, and he's been a real help."

Link just nodded, a wave of unearned and unwanted guilt left him.

"Any way things have been getting a lot better around...hey link? Are you going to let her eat all of those?" she pointed at molly.

Link looked at her, she froze in mid bite, a cookie in each hand, "wha?" she asked though a bite of yummy cookie goodness.

"Give me one of those." He snatched one of her cookies and pushed the tray away.

"Bastard!" she muttered as she clutched her remaining cookie and munched on it with little bites trying to make it last longer.

Link took a bite out of the cookie and turned back to Malon, "you were saying?"

Malon was holding back a laugh and wondering exactly how Link ended up with such a handful of a girl, but Malon, being a polite country girl at heart decided not to change the subject and continued where she left off.

" Things are getting a lot better around here. The royal family took back the throne, there's a truce with the Gerudos, and the Zoras have even been working with the crown to start some kind of new fishing town at lake Hylia. Castle town has been rebuilt and is more like a city than any thing and business hasn't been this good since we were kids!" Malon told him excitedly.

Link nodded and drank his tea, he had gathered this much from the merchants.

" Though, there is a large bandit problem. The roads aren't very safe any more, at least they're not attacking the villages." She said with a dark note.

"I noticed there were a lot of those." He said, but it was really a question.

" Villages? Well a farmer can make a lot money I guess. There are a lot of people to feed in the cities." Malon said with a shrug.

Link was going to say something but there was a loud knock on the door, Malon hurried to the door, it was custom for people to politely knock on her door before they went in search for her on the rest of the ranch and she didn't want who ever was knocking to wander off before she got there. It had happen before.

She opened the door to a young boy. He looked out of breath and was red in the face and his dirty blonde hair was ruffled and fell in his face giving him a scruffy look.

"Oh hey Orin...you didn't run all the way from home did you." She asked with a motherly tone.

"Maybe." He said trying to get a look at her visitors.

"Wait right here." She said as she grabbed a jar of the table and fished out two little red rupees, "here you go," she said handing them to him, his eyes widen, "now I know your late, but I forgot to pay you last week and I wouldn't want your father angry with me."

"Yes ma'am,"

"Don't ma'am me! Do I look like a ma'am to you?" she asked in a fiery manner, "now when is your father expecting you home?"

"Not till tomorrow ma'am." He said still trying to look behind her at the visitors.

Malon sighed, "well go take care of the stalls and if you finish early you can help me in the grain house."

The boy turned to head for the stables when Link turned to molly, "why don't you go give him a hand chickadee?"

Orin looked at Malon then to the small girl hording her cookie. He didn't think she looked like much help.

"Ma'am you pay me to be a stable boy not a baby sitter," he said stubbornly.

Link tried not to chuckle as he watched molly's temper rise, that Orin had just pressed the wrong buttons.

"I don't need to be baby sat by any one!" she shouted at him as she scrambled off her chair and to the door. Orin took a surprised step back.

"Orin this is..."

"Molly." Molly interrupted. Molly stared up at him, he was a good head and a half taller than her and seemed to be about the same age.

" I didn't mean anything by it I swear. Its just she's awfully young to be helping with horses," Orin said more to Malon than to the infuriated molly.

Malone was about to agree when she was interrupted again, "ten years old is plenty old to work with horses." Link said, Molly smiled widely at him and then the others.

"Well then hurry up or I might forget to feed you," Malon threatened. Orin's big green eyes widened and grabbed molly's big white sleeve and dragged her out the door. For him it was a common threat and one that usually wasn't bluffed.

Orin dragged her out of the house, across the little lane and into the stables. She thought she could hear people laughing, but it could have been the cucco's clucking. She wasn't sure.

----

Malon was giggling terribly, "were did you find her?" she asked between laughs.

"Almost three years during the Chockit rebellion....." Malon looked at him funny.

'Oh shit! Shit shit shit' link mentally beat himself. He didn't just say what he thought he said. He hoped Malon hadn't noticed the slip. She gave him another really weird look.

He then mentally broke lots of little blue ocarinas.

"Chockit is a country to the west, that's were all the wars were." He said trying to save his hide and pretending he thought the weird look was that she didn't know where the Chockit nation was.

"Um Link... you just said three years ago, you haven't even been gone that long." She asked concerned.

'Oh dear goddesses help me I can't lie for shit!' he thought desperately as he scrambled for an answer.

----

Meanwhile back in the stables Molly was mucking stalls. Her hands hurt, the shovel was to long and to heavy and Orin was making it look to easy!

Since there were eight stalls Orin had decided that they should each do four, she was on her second. Orin was done and putting fresh hay in the stalls.

She trudged though the work till she was on the last stall, she opened the bolted the door and came face to face with a large roan mare. She squeaked and slammed the door in the mares face.

Bam! The stall shook violently; she squeaked again. The horse kicked twice more and Orin was at her side.

"Meet Epona." He said dryly. The banging stopped and it was silent. Suddenly he threw the door open and dashed in; there was another bang as the mare kicked the stall. Molly was now convinced that Orin had been mauled as link warned could happen.

She was a little surprised when He nudged the door open with his foot and led the large sour tempered workhorse out of the stall by the nose.

"Just have to show them whose boss," he said with a grin as he walked her to the opposite and freshly hayed stall and shut the door. As soon as it was locked, she began to kick again and made the stall shake.

Molly stared at him for a moment; he had just earned about forty brownie points in her book. (A/n: that's a lot of brownie points!)

"You gona shovel that or what?" he threw more hay in a stall. She nodded and got back to work.

She finished and was helping him spread the hay, "so where are you and your father from," he asked causally as he threw some hay.

Molly stopped in mid swing and gaped at him, "Link is not my father!" she almost yelled.

"Um I mean your brother," he corrected himself a little embarrassedly.

"He's not my brother." Orin gave her a look, she shrugged, "he's just Link," Orin continued to spread hay as he mulled it over.

"So where are you from?" he asked again.

"Chockit." She dragged the bale to the stall.

"Choke what?"

"No stupid that's the name of the country,"

He nodded, "oh, so where's that."

"To the west, it's was a lot hotter there." She added randomly.

"So was it fun?" he asked expectantly.

"What?" she turned and faced him.

"Traveling, I've always just wanted to take a horse and go, what's the rest of the world like?" he had a serious look in emerald eyes.

She thought for a moment as he waited in suspense, "different I guess, every where is different than where you've been before."

He was a little disappointed by the answer, "I've never even gone to meet the Zoras, Gorons or the Gerudos. I'm always in here with the horses"

"I've been to the Gerudo fortress!" she chirped hoping to continue their conversation.

"Really! What's it like! Are there really only women there?"

She nodded, "yep and its really hot, and the sand gets in every thing, and there're lots of red flags and decorations every where, and the houses are all stacked up one on top of the other." they sat down on the trough as she described it, "I spared with one the guards, I won! I made her bleed!" she said getting excited remembering the victory. She was about to brag a little when she noticed the frown on his face, "what?"

"Now you're lying!" he said aggregately as he got up and dragged a sac of grain out of the corner.

Now molly would never admit that she thought any one could be better than her but the incident with him and Epona had made an impression. She really didn't want him to think she was a liar, if any thing she wanted him to think that she was as interesting as she thought he was. She had taken pleasure in the fact that he wanted to know about the fortress. She would show him. She grabbed the shovel.

Orin turned around to say something, but stopped when he found her standing before him twirling the shovel as she would her staff.

She spun, brought the handle under and behind his armpit. In the same movement, she brought the handle forward and down, knocking his feet out from under him, effectively using her body weight to flip Orin onto his back and hit the floor hard.

She looked down at him with a smug grin, his eyes were as big around as quarters; he had just been flipped by a girl half is size, (plus five brownie points for molly.)

Suddenly the door slammed open.

Molly dropped the shovel and stepped back, "I didn't do it!" she said quickly looking at links not so happy face. She wondered what had gotten him so pissed off.

"My horse?" some how this question was understood and Orin pointed toward the stall.

"Good, we're leaving."


	9. nine

Eek! Does any one remember this fic! Heh heh, I almost took it off so many times, now if I don't get any reviews I'm just gona pull it. Its had a good run and it was fun to write so no regrets right. So read if ya want, review if you want it to continue.

Chickadee Ch 9

Link barged into Epona's stall; the horse whinnied happily, immediately recognizing him.

Orin watched in amazement as link coached the mare out of her stall, and began to strap a saddle on her. That horse was the most evil bitter creation on the face of the planet, and here he was making Epona melt in his hands.

"Come on molly, we're leaving," he said coldly as he eased the bridle into the mares mouth.

"But…" molly stared at him.

"We're leaving," he lead the horse out the barn doors and she followed. Link mounted his stead, leaned over, scooped her up, and plopped her in front of him. Molly squirmed uncomfortably on the unfamiliar saddle. She looked down at Orin and gave a little wave.

Orin looked up at the large horse that could easily dwarf him or the little girl on its back any day of the week. He didn't wave back, but wondered how some one could ride a horse like that. He finally gave a very weak wave.

Epona stamped her feet anxiously; Link taped his heels against her flanks and urged her into a trot.

Malon stood out side her door; an identifiable emotion played across her face, Link slowed for all of half a second and took off at a gallop through the gates.

Molly tried to wonder what had happened as she was bounced to death by Epona's heavy pace. They held the gallop till they crested the next hill. Link brought Epona to a stop and looked down at the little girl in front of him.

"You have to move with the horse Chickadee," he said with a bit of amusement.

Her little fist pounded into his upper thigh, "she was nice lady Link! She even gave us cookies! And then you had to get mad at her, what's wrong with you, don't you like cookies!"

He sighed exasperatedly, "its complicated," he told her.

"Its complicated," she mocked him with a high-pitched annoying voice.

He sighed again, it was always complicated. He looked out over the horizon and could clearly see the large smudge in the shadow of the foothills of a large mountain. He kicked Epona into a trot and headed for it.

It wasn't till long after nightfall that they arrived, it was nearly dawn. The high walls of the town loomed over him; the new drawbridge was raised and bared his way. With in the town the sound of church bells chimed he hour. Then with aloud creak and the sound of rattling chains the drawbridge lowered. He kept one hand around a sleeping molly as he entered the town.

As Epona clopped across the coble streets toward the market, he could see people slowly emerging from their houses to open up their businesses for the day. The shops were all rearranged and the tall tutor style houses were all pearly white and clean.

He sat there on his horse wondering, for the first time since he had entered his homeland, what he really expected to happen. He smoothed down molly's hair and thought. Thoughts of the little girl's red headed berserker sister came to mind.

She had been an amazon woman that had swept across her nation with a small rebellion force and won. He wondered briefly what would have happened if she had lived to reap her victories. Her death had not been befitting of some one such as herself, she survived the battle only to die in the night during childbirth. He remembered with a half a grin how she had yelled at every one when the whole battalion had ganged up on her and tried to convince her to stay at camp, as they had every battle for the past nine months.

He sighed again and noticed that the sun was peeking over the east wall, "hey chickadee, wake up." He shook her gently.

"Huh?" her bright eyes popped open as she saw the large buildings that surrounded her and the merchants setting up their shops.

Link swung his leg behind him and dismounted his warhorse, he grabbed molly and plopped her on the ground. She rubbed one eye sleepily as two guards strutted by to relieve the other two at the base of the castle entrance. Her eyes opened wide and wakeful as she watched them, marveling at their shiny helmets and clinking chain mail. The silhouette of a castle could be seen up on the hill, it held her gave with a fairy tale like quality. Even with all the scaffolding and construction that could be visible seen around it, it still seemed magical.

"Hey," Link said knocking her out of her revelry, "do you forgive me?" he asked.

She was quiet for a moment, "well, maybe, she did give me cookies."

He grinned at her, "Here," he stuck out one hand and she cupped hers beneath his. Three blue rupees feel into her hands. Her eyes glittered with complete mirth.

"Now, I got things to do. I'm not even going to tell you to stay out of trouble, just don't get caught and be back here by noon." He said with a sly grin.

He couldn't have made the little troublemaker happier.

She grinned and hope up and down excitedly a few times with more energy than should be possible at that time of day. She stopped suddenly, "One question?" she asked.

"What?"

"Where are we?"

He laughed, and she glared at him, "Hyrule castle town, if that's what they still call he said with a smile."

"Oh okay," she said slowly, "can I go now?"

He rolled his eyes, "hurry up and vanish," when he looked back she had disappeared. He looked over the forming crowd and could just make out the top of her chestnut head.

She was either going to have time of her life or he had made the worst mistake that he would ever regret. He hitched Epona to the hitching post and pulled his pack out of the saddlebag. He stared up at the castle and took the first of many steps towards its gate.


	10. ten

A/n #2minor changes made! WEEE!

Well guess no one remembered this story much, just one person, oh well I have a semblance of a plot now so off we go. Oh, I forgot if Molly's eyes were brown or green and I'm too lazy to check so now they're hazel. Oh yes and Irchyne has a bit of a Mainers accent (grind) he slurs the "th" sound into a d… like me. But it slurs into the next word real fast like he almost leaves it out. Its not as dramatic as it looks in the typing, I dunno maybe it was a bad idea. Any way read if you review if ya do, remember I no own the Zelda or da link! WEE!

Chickadee-chapter 10—

Molly peered at the shinny bobbles on display. They were just so shinny. Her emerald eyes reflected off the polished surface of the pocket watch. Gold and silver chains lay strewn across the stand. It was almost noon now, and she had been searching the stands all day for the perfect shiny trinket.

A rather large waisted, mountain of a woman bumped her out of the way and began to haggle with the merchant. She swore under her breath and pushed the lady back, the fat woman seemed to hardly notice her. She grumbled irritably in the same manner of a much taller blonde man she knew.

She moved aside and stared at the silver pocket watch with a touch of longing. She wasn't quite sure what it was, all logic told her it was a locket, but mostly she liked it cause it was beautiful. Small leafy vines were delicately carved into its surface. It was a childish compulsion really. She had money, it was shiny, and she wanted it.

"Come on you fat cow, hurry up," she mumbled putting her elbows on the stall, which just came right up to her armpits.

She flopped her head in her hands and stared at her soon to be prize. She scratched her cheek absently only to glimpse pale slender fingers violated her watch.

"Iah! Ah wait!" she spluttered at the merchant. The tall balding man put down the long skein of silk he was showing the fat woman and looked at her.

"Ehn?" molly spun back toward the crowd.

"Watch it kid!" a man nearby the stand stumbled back as a blur of red ran past him.

Molly glared and dashed after the thief. People couldn't just steal stuff, especially if she was about to buy it. She pushed her way through the crowd, well weaved through it more or less.

She burst from the thick crowd in time to see a corner of a long red coat flutter around the corner of a side alley. She followed as fast as her short legs would let her.

The red-coated boy ran head long down the narrow alley. Molly tore after him. As she got close, enough she tackled the larger boy.

The boy was actually very scrawny, scrawny but tall.

"Bloody hell!" a hand grabbed the top of her head and pushed it way.

"Give it back she yelled!" she sent a small fist on a collision course with his face.

"Shit," he hissed. For a little girl she could hit hard, "Get da hell off" he shouted.

He threw her off with both hands and scrambled to his feet. He reached for his belt and drew a small dagger.

"Now who da hell are you!"

Molly pulled herself to her feet and glared up at the fierce red headed thief. The shade of his nearly matched his bright coat. Dark eyes peered down at her from deep sockets. He had a pointy chin and a matching narrow nose.

"Give it back." She told him stubbornly either not seeing the knife or being to foolish to care.

The thief's thin eyebrow tweaked, " you mean da'watch?" sarcasm dripped from him despite his odd accent.

"YEAH!" she shouted in her high-pitched voice, " I was about to buy that you bitch!"

The thief gave her a funny look and discreet put his knife back in its sheath. Like most he wasn't sure of what to make of the little hazel eyed brunette monster.

"Well you gots any money d'ere bright eyes," he said with a cheeky grin.

Molly dug into the breast pocket of her baggy white shirt and pulled out all three shiny blue stones. She held them out hopefully to him. He raised his other eyebrow in a quirky expression

He could see a good deal when he saw one; he could probable get ten rupees for the thing anywhere else any way.

"You gots yourself a deal lit'il lady," with a speed and dexterity she had never seen before he whipped the silver object out of an inner pocket and swapped it for the odd shaped currency in her hand. She had barely seen him do it.

"Well I usually like ta'know da'name of my clients," he said in a self-important way.

"Molly," she muttered as she flipped the watch around and inspected it. She didn't see him nod. She tucked it in her breast pocket.

"Da'name's Irchyne" he said as he adjusted his coat and fixed his collar.

Molly looked up at him then, he had a high and mighty air to him. It certainly didn't match the tattered hem of his coat or the holes in his big boots.

She grinned at the redhead, though she would never be sure why.

He snorted and gave her a small salute, "been a pleasure doin' business wid ya."

Two men turned down their ally; Irchyne didn't seem to give them any mind as he strutted down a connecting ally.

Molly looked up at the men as they passed her, one, a tall and muscular blonde, the other a scrawny oily black haired man with dark stubble covering his chin. They dressed like most the town folk, a tunic in a shade of brown over a light shirt with dark breeches. But they were scruffy looking to say the lest. One had a sword at his belt. Molly side stepped toward the other side of the ally and was about ready to bolt back to the main street.

She saw them turn the same corner Irchyne had taken, heard their footsteps quicken.

"D'Bloody hell!" She heard him shout, curiosity got the best of her and she peered around the corner.

The large bulky blonde man held him by both shoulders against the wall, "we're on to you street rat." The large man growled at him.

"Don't know what ya talking 'bout," the thief said rolling his head to the side, "and if you excuse me ya wrinklin' ma coat!" he said looking back.

"Cheeky bastard eh?" the dark haired man said with a voice as oily as his hair. He crossed the alley from his position against the wall. He kept his hand on his sword as he spoke. "We know all about this guild master of yours," the scrawny man pretended to inspect his fingernails.

"Yeah well he ain't gon be happy 'bout dis" Irchyne said with a futile kick and a squirm.

"Yeah cause he's pinned against the wall," the blond behemoth growled.

Irchyne made a quick hissing noise between his teeth, "I really don't know what ya talkin' 'bout."

"Bull shit." The black haired man yelled at him, "you made up the goddess damned guild master, there's no such man…"

"And you owe us five-hundred rupees…" the gravely voiced henchman finished for him.

Molly could hear the thief physically gulp.

"…I don't…." he said as the brawny man switched the position of his hand so he held him up by his shirt neck with one hand. He drew a large thin knife off his belt.

"Okay d'at's a knife," he said a little surprised. His dark eyes flashed over the man's shoulder and landed on the eavesdropping Molly. His eyes grew wide as he stared at her. Molly had never seen anyone look so desperate. His eyes darted away from her; she followed his line of sight and saw his small dagger lying on the ground.

"You listening to me street rat" the blond brut said shaking him and waving his knife.

Molly dashed over to the knife, picked it up with both hands, and looked at the scene playing out before her.

"We want our money." The oily voiced told him.

"We want it now." His captor finished.

"I…I …only got fifteen…"

"What!" the man brought the knife to his neck.

Molly looked down at the knife, at much as she hated to admit it she was just a little girl, Link had told her this often. This wasn't a playful scrap or a pair of good-hearted guards. She was just a frightened little girl.

Irchyne could feel the burning sensation where the cold steel bit into him.

"I'll… I'll get ya da'money, no worries!" he squirmed a bit.

"Well then, why don't we leave you a little reminder" the blonde moved the blade to the corner of the thief's eye. Irchyne could feel his heart race into a panic.

Molly was at just the right angle to see the thug move the blade.

Irchyne screamed as the blade sliced into the side of his face. Warm blood seeped into his left eye.

The scream and the blood threw all reason out of Molly's window "STOP!" Stop screamed. It wasn't right. Why did people have to be like this? As the two men looked at her she raced toward the man with the knife and stabbed her dagger into his upper thigh she heaved the blade back out and scampered a few steps away. The blade had made the most sickening noise she had ever heard when she pulled it out. The man swore and his hand on the knife faltered. Irchyn screamed again before he was dropped.

"Shit, Meyer! Kill her. Meyer kill that little bitch!"

Meyer smoothed back his oily hair and drew his sword, "so little girl, you think you can take on us big strong men, huh?"

She took a step back and held up the knife defensively, he wouldn't really kill her?

Irchyne held his face in both hands; he blinked the blood out of his eye like one large crimson tear. He scrambled to his feet and fiddled with his pant leg.

The large injured man chuckled at the large fear filled eyes bursting out of molly's face. He looked over to where Irchyne should have been and swore. A small blade wedged itself between the man's neck and shoulder the blonde spluttered and tottered over dead.

Meyer snickered at her; she could feel herself freezing up. She had never fought anyone who really wanted to hurt her. She had never been afraid while wielding a weapon. He gave her a sickly grin and lounged forward with his thin and narrow sword.

She shut her eyes tight as she screamed. She thrust the knife in front of her. The man's weight pushed into her and then was pulled away. She opened her eyes, the sword stood impaled into the wall next to her head. She looked up at the man who belonged to the sword blood flood out of his mouth like a gruesome waterfall. Irchyne's bright red head peeked over his shoulder. One hand was on Meyer's jaw, the other at the knife by his throat.

With a deft motion with both hands, Irchyne slit the man's throat and dropped him. Molly looked up at him with wide eyes. He looked down at the dagger impaled into the man's gut and back at the girl.

"Go it you bastard, straight to hell," he addressed the corpse with a kicked and squatted to scavenge anything of value out of the man's pocket despite his bleeding face.

Molly sidestepped away from the sword in the wall, from the way she eyed it, you would have thought it would jump out and bite her at any minute. She looked down at her hand for a moment. Small spatters of blood covered her fingers; she wiped them on her white shirt.

The redhead turned back to her. He wiped the blade of the dagger that she had stuck in the dead man's gut on his red coat. He handed it to her, hilt first. She just looked up at him; he was a good tree heads taller than her. He squinted his left eye closed as the cut down the side of his face bleed as a lock of matching hair fell into his face. There was just so much red, between his hair his coat and the blood. She just blinked at him and finally she took it.

"Pleasure doin' business wid ya." He said as a crimson drop dripped off his chin. He rubbed the bottom of his chin with the back of his hand smudging scarlet across his face. "Now get da'hell out'a here," he said pointing.

She nodded, and darted toward the street.


	11. eleven

fanfic is a bitch! some how for no reason this is all in like size 18 bold! gaaah why!... sigh, any wa short and cute. read if yeh want review if you do. menh! look at me my fic is for the seeing impaired ehn! who needs font this big ! how do i fix it? grrr... i give up.

Chickadee-- ch 11

Molly had managed to pull herself up onto the massive warhorse's back. She sat on the saddle with her knees pulled up to her chest. She could still feel the small knife where she had tucked it in her bootleg like she had seen Irchyne do. It was almost noon.

'Link should be back soon,' she realized. She clenched the pocket watch; the metal was warm in her hands now. She stared out at the crowd with out seeing the people. Somehow, her juvenile heart couldn't understand why she wanted to cry.

She heard the heavy footsteps coming toward her. She knew it was Link but she didn't turn to look at him. He was grumbling unhappily to himself under his breath as he took Epona's reins. She knew something had made him angry, and for a moment, she wondered if somehow he had found out already.

He was silent for a moment, she was didn't notice she was busy staring past the crowds.

"Molly," he said slowly coming around the side of the horse. She didn't resist when he gently slid her feet away from her chest and over the side of the horse. "Is this your blood," he asked just as slowly taking hold of the hem of her shirt, looking for any kind of rip in the fabric.

She shook her head.

"Molly…"

She threw her arms around his neck unexpectedly. And as much as she didn't want to she started crying, she just couldn't help it.

Link didn't know what to do for a moment. He never knew quite what to do when his charge started sobbing, thankfully she didn't do it often. So, he just let her cry for a bit.

And suddenly as she cried there, he realized that what ever had happened to his chickadee made his own miserable problem awaiting him at the castle unimportant.


	12. Twelve

Wow...i actualy got a review demanding i updated...and i do it just for you,um is too lazy to go look up your name and i say i love my reviewers... I do though! Thanks for that review though...i don't think i would have updated otherwise! at at alost for plot at the moment so subjestions would be nifty!

Chickadee chapter 12

The sun was sinking into the west over the castle courtyard, casting the lush garden into gray shadows. The stones of the castle were old and worn but the construction was new and radiated a rejuvenated feeling from its old stones.

A lean figure leaned over the high balcony railing, observing the unexpected and un-informed of oddity below. She brushed a strand of platinum hair out of her face as she scrutinized the small brunette girl on the war horse below. Its blond owner was leading it toward the castle stables, and she watched till they disappeared inside of the structure.

The queen let a breathy sigh escape her. Their conversation earlier had been short and polite, and far more awkward than she ever would have imagined. But the girl had not been mentioned in the slightest. She let some of the more unpleasant possibilities run through her head as she peered down at the empty courtyard. She sighed again, there was no use fretting over it till she knew the truth.

A black and brown clad butler strode across the grounds toward the stable, just in time to meet link and his charge coming out. Zelda found herself leaning farther over railing, trying in vain to catch and words of the hurried conversation that was much to far away to hear to begin with.

She watched them hurry off through one of the doors leading into castle. She relaxed and ran her fingers along the railing. "Why are you here? Why did you come back?" she whispered to herself her mind puzzling its self and ignoring the obvious conclusion it kept coming to: that this was his home. She sighed again, it sounded more like a groan.

"Pop!" Molly blinked at the empty space were the offending bubble had been moments before. Once again she looked around in wonder at the large bathroom, with all its pink marble surfaces and all the odd smelly bottles of this and that. She swished her hands around in the bubble bath , watching the bubbles pop and swirl.

As soon as they had arrived at the castle link had fussed nervously over her. He had made quiet sure the blood on her hands and shirt had not been hers, all the while babbling questions at her she refused to answer. The interrogation had ended as he wiped her hands cleaned with a damp cloth and shuttled her off to the bathroom, telling her nothing more than to get cleaned up.

So there molly was. Alone. In a very fancy bathroom. On any other day this simple combination would have spelled disaster. Her mood could be best described as sulky as she sat in the middle of the behemoth tube. She looked remarkably like a drowned rat, with her dark wet hair sticking to her face.

She looked down at her pruned sudsy hands doubtfully, they were clean now. She wasn't so much upset about the incident now, for she had seen people die before, she was mostly wondering whether or not she should be upset. What was gripping her psyche the most was the idea that she could die just as easy, and she nearly had.

"Bang Bang!"

"Eip!" the sudden banging on the door startled her and she nearly threw her self out of the bath.

"You didn't drown in there did you?" links muffled voice asked through the door.

"NO!" she yelled back feeling most unhappy about being startled.

"well hurry up. I've got to meet a friend and I want to talk to you before I do." at those words the little girl let herself sink beneath the now cooled bath water, only her bright green eyes and a strand of long hair peeked up through the bubbles.

Link began grumbling and turned back to the over furnished room. A small dark haired maid stood in the door way snickering.

"sorry..." she said snickering, "it was open. I was sent here for your laundry" she finished finally controlling her snickers.

Link shrugged at her and her frilly black and white maid outfit. He unceremoniously dumped the two pack on the bed out. He continued to grumble as he separated clothing out from the piles.

The maid quickly bustled over to him and began relieving him of his laundry and both packs with the large basket balanced on her hip. Link tried to protest but the young maid was far to efficient and in the end he found himself siting on the end of the bed as she scooped anything and every thing washable into her basket.

The door to the bathroom clicked open and the sound of wet feet on hard wood pitterr-pattered toward the bed. Link couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of her wrapped in the largest, most luxurious towel he had ever seen.

"Wait!" she grabbed hold of the maid's basket as she was about to turn and leave.

the little maid smiled down at her, "I'm only taking it to the wash."

"Well, this is clean!" she said pulling at the pant leg of a pair of her pants, she nearly pulled the basket out of th maid's hands as she continued to rummage.

"Molly...let the poor lady do her job..." he said getting off the bed to relieve the maid of the over zealous girl.

The maid smiled at him and lowered the basket for her so she could search better, "Well she does have to wear something." she said simply.

Link stopped in mid step, she had a point.

"umm...and this...its not clean but..." she never finished but scampered off into the bathroom with the chosen articles of clothing, the door banging behind her.

"sorry about that..." he said walking over and picking up a few stray articles that had fallen out in the process.

The maid grinned, "is she yours?"

"Oh hell no," he said with a smirk, throwing the escapees back in the laundry basket.

"well she's cute anyway," the maid smiled broader if that was possible, "well I'll have these back by tonight." and with that she disappeared out the door.

Link walked back to the large four poster bed and looked over the pile of things left on it. He heard molly's bare feet trotting up behind him.

"will you tie this?" she said curtly holding the untied strings that held the pink little shirt on. He tied it quickly in an over sized bow. She pulled herself up onto the large bed and began rummaging in the remains of their possessions for her hair brush.

Link watched her for a moment, "About this morning, you sure you don't wan to tell-"

"yep," she said finding the brush.

"Will you at least tell me-"

"Nope," she didn't look at him when she said this, but went about brushing her chocolate colored hair.

He crossed his arms and looked down at her on the bed. A look of concern floated on his brow, a look that could easily be confused with annoyance. She blinked up at him and bit her lip, she never liked it when she thought he was angry with her.

He sighed and turned his attention to the pile of stuff scattered across the bed, "Just want you to know, that if anyone ever tries to hurt you that damn well better try to do it back." he plucked a large bundle of paper out of the pile and looked at her as she squirmed on the edge of the bed under his gaze. He knew full well she had been in fight and had no intentions of letting her run around with a gut full of guilt over protecting herself.

"I know that..." she muttered.

"and..." he continued giving her a puzzled look at her lack of a confident answer, " even if its not you they're trying to hurt..." he finished letting her think on the implication. She sat there quiet for a moment.

"mmhmm,"she said softly nodding her head. He nodded slightly understanding a bit more of what happened, and slipped the parchments into his tunic.

"anyway," he continued briskly as if the conversation before hand had never taken place, "I've got to go meet with..." he hesitated for just ht e briefest moment, "...a friend of mine. And I'll be back in time for dinner, the servant said he'd send someone along with lunch for you..." he was stalking about the room now as if looking for something. "You seen my boots?"

"Nope," she watched him as he checked behind a gaudy pink and red upholstered chair that looked about ready to explode with the amount of cushioning in it.

"dammit...i left them...and then..." he began muttering to himself in that way that molly loved to imitate often. She began to giggle at him as he stood in front of the wash bowl on the chest of drawers. It was obvious now to her that he had washed himself up while she was in the bathroom, and this had involved misplacing his prized boots.

"nooo," there was a note of disbelief in his voice as he surveyed the room with his crystal blue eyes. He strode quickly to the bed again and peered beneath it.

"No..." he said making the word sound more like a heart felt curse.

"What?" Molly hung her self over the side of the bed so she could just see under the bed with him,all she could see under the bed was bare immaculate floor. She pulled her self up and was still mostly consumed by giggles as he swore venomously, still half under the bed. To her there was almost nothing funnier than him trying to find what he had misplaced unless he found what he was looking for right under his nose.

He stood up and looked at her and then frantically at the door, "she took my boots to the wash..."

Molly looked at him most unsympathetically, trying very hard to force the amusement out of her face. She could remember now in her rummaging that they had been there in the maid's basket. She couldn't help it anymore and burst out laughing again behind him.

He turned and glared at her, "its not funny!" he growled frustrated, he looked down at his feet with a bit of despair. The situation in which he had to face the new queen could not get worse he thought hopelessly.

"Maybe she wont notice..." he didn't realizer he had said this out loud, and molly dissolved into a yet another fit of laughter.

He cursed angrily, he was going to be late, he was going to be bare foot, "this is going to be awkward."

Molly didn't catch his last blurp due to the volume of her laughter.

"... screw it. I'm going anyways." he said to his feet, "and," he said pointing back at her, " you stay out of trouble...i mean it. And after this morning I don't even want you leaving this room till I get back."

molly cocked her head at him and stared...she had the sneaking suspicion she was being punished.

"how can i get into trouble in a place like this?" she said getting a bit defensive, she had no intention of leaving till he said she couldn't. She stole a glance at some of the odd and exotic items on the bed next to her, looking over them while he was gone would have entertained her plenty...

"I'm just saying i don't want to have to worry..." he trailed of after he said this, she bit her lip again. "this is important," he said sternly after an awkward pregnant pause.

Molly's face was the perfect picture of the question Why? They had always come and gone to many places. Never staying longer than a couple weeks. Why was this different?what did it mater if she got in trouble, though to be truthful her appetite for it had already been satisfied the day.

"just...don't leave our room." with this he stalked out of the room, closing the door ominously behind him.

Molly snorted, and crossed her arms, cursing him with every dirty word she new. She grumbled angrily over his frustrated exit while pawing through his things on the bed. A couple of creepy Masks caught her attention along with a bunch of talistmen on a necklace. She hardly paid attention as she continued to grumble about how he always told her what to do. Her earlier escapeadd was nearly forgotten for the moment.

She hoped off the bed and marched toward the door, "Just because he said not to," she thought fiercely as she opened the door and entered the hallway.

She stalked down though the maze like corridors. The maids and servants all seemed to ignore her and bustle about on there business. At the end of one particularly high vaulted hallway was a door larger than the rest. Molly approached it just behind a short portly woman in an apron. The woman opened the door to reveal it lead back into one of the court yards.

Molly looked about in the bright sunlight as the woman bustled over to a close line and began to fold things feverishly. Maybe, she thought reluctantly, it would be hard to get in trouble here.

The courtyard was smaller than the one with stable, a small pond, a tree that had become victim to the many close lines tethered to it, and a bunch of loud chickens was all that she found there.

The little fat woman finally seemed to notice her as she stood dejectedly in the sunlight.

"Ee' young'un what ye be doin'?" she said archaically as she grinned owlishly at her with her bright green eyes that popped out of her little wrinkled face in a comical mater.

Molly shrugged at the old lady, and wonder if she was going to try to yak her ear off.

"what be the matta' chill', the others not playin' with ye?" the old maid took down another shirt off the line and folded it neatly.

"I... umm..." she stammered not entirely sure what the old lady was getting at.

"you chil'ren can be so 'arsh sometimes, it surp'ises me you ever play nice at all..." at this she began to tut to herself as she continued to fold.

"oh..." molly hadn't even thought about there being other children in the castle, "i...um just can't find them all today." the ladies gaze was starting to freak her out.

"My child they be in the garden like they always be..." the woman chuckled at this.

"oh...didn't look there?" molly said a little unconvincingly and more than a little sarcastic.

"I remember when i twas your age-"Molly blinked at the woman as she gazed wistfully at the sky, some internal sense told her that now, more than any was a good time to make a quiet escape back into the castle.

The old maid looked up at the sound of the door banging and sighed, "oh well," the little old lady said with a sigh, "twoud have board her 'neeways."

22

Molly wandered about the castle again. The more she wandered in search of the gardens and potential companion ship the more her earlier escapead laid heavy on her mind. She was just about ready to admit defeat and attempt to return to her room and sulk, she was even contemplating asking for directions back when a loud shreik echoed toward her from the left.

She looked up from her thoughts and turned, coming face to face with a large arch way leading out into lush greenery.

She cocked her head quizzically, "must be the gardens."

"Tony that AIN"T FAIR!" a shrill voice yelled again as she entered, "you never tag Dylan when your it, always me!"

Molly quickened her pace down the gravel path and soon found her self in a grassy clearing sou rounded by small ornamental trees and bushes. Three children lay piled in an exhausted heap, they all seemed to be around our young trouble makers age, maybe eleven or so, but as always molly seemed small in comparison to them.

"Dylan is to hard to catch..." the dark haired boy said panting. Molly stood away form the watching, feeling very much the outsider.

"oh hello!" the platinum headed boy said joyfully catching sight of molly. She could only assume this was Dylan.

"who are you?" the little auburn red head asked sitting and smoothing out her blue skirt. For being a young girl she seemed to be awfully commanding.

"molly..."

"I'm Orelia Pyth," she said proudly attempting to courtesy while sitting, "you can call me Relly," she said with a giggle, "and those two stupids are Tony and Dylan."

the two boys waved on queue.

She waved back ,"what'ch doin'?" she asked with a broad grin as she joined them on the grass.

The dark eyed blond shrugged, "we were playing tag...but i think we're done with that now."

the dark haired boy nodded in agreement, "so...where you from? Are you staying? Who did you come with? Do you have any brothers?" the down pour of questions flew out the child's mouth at speed approaching gibberish.

She blinked her big emerald eyes at him.

"Tony! Don't be rude..." there was a silence and all three eyes were on molly, "well? Do you."

"oh sorry? You still want me to answer?" she asked perplexed.

"Course we do you ninny" Dylan said with a wide and curios grin.

"umm..." she began, "very far away, i don't think so, Link, no." she said listing the answers out on her fingers.

"Link?" tony asked asked as the other two looked at each other.

"my ma said that the queen was in love with a man named link once." Relly said looking deep in thought.

"a queen?" Molly asked in disbelief, "ha! Can't be the same person at all."

"Why not?" tony questioned.

"There aren't very many people named Link out there," Dylan said wisely.

"i can't imagine any one with enough brains to rule a country falling in love with an idiot like him!" Molly took great pride in being able to proclaim this.

"tee-hee! Is he that bad?" Relly exclaimed with a clap of her hands, "my older brother is an absolute Nimrod!"

"oh yes...earlier he misplaced his boots and and had to go to some stupid meeting completely bare foot!" she told them.

"Really?" Tony asked over the laughter, "sounds like something Dylan would do!"

"Na ah!" Dylan countered shoving his friend away.

"yes sah!" tony knocked into him with his shoulder. It soon turned into an all out tousle.

"Look," Oreliah said with a knowing smirk, "told you they were two little stupid peas in a pod."

the struggle ended quickly with the larger Dylan siting on his companion, "I resent that!" he managed to say before being shoved onto the ground.

"Can you swim?" Dylan suddenly asked, his face appearing inches from her own as he stared at her through his bright platinum hair with his dark chocolate eyes.

"yes."

"Good!" Relly's blue orbs sparkled with glee, "I've been trying to get them to go swimming all day!"

"You wanna go?" Tony asked the group officially turning to molly last.

"ummm...okay?" she was a bit awed by how quickly she had been included in their activities.

"Come on!" Relly yelled excitedly as she hoped up to her feet, hauling molly up as she went.

"last one there is a shriveled deku!" Dylan yelled as he raced ahead, tony yelling planitifulyu behind him.

Link was doing his best to wait patiently in the large sunny library. It was a rather plain study for queen. Books lined every wall only interrupted by two large windows and fireplace.

At the moment link was trying very hard to keep himself in one of the dark wood chairs in front of the large desk. His efforts didn't last long and he soon began to pace nervously, and well barefoot. He made at least three passes by the desk before he stopped and looked over the items on it. What chiefly dominated its surface was a large map of the kingdom. Around the edges of Hyrule the map faded into nothing. Link grinned, and pulled out the parchment tucked in his tunic.

No sooner had he began to unroll the parchment than he heard the door click shut behind him. He turned and came face to face with Zelda for the second time that day. She was dresses rather simply in a white buttoned blouse and fawn breeches.

"oh...ummm...sorry." he said quickly crossing his arms and taking a step back from her desk.

"it's quite alright," she said with a smile seeming to find a wealth of amusement in his actions.

"I was just looking at the map..." as he said this she crossed the distance between the door and the desk with what can only be described as cat like grace. She unrolled his parchment and gave it a good long look.

"yours seems rather more traveled than mine..." she looked up at him expectantly as if this warranted some sort of res pounce.

He sort of just nodded his head and shuffled his feet, "yep..." this may seem like a shy jester at first, but really he just couldn't think of anything else to say.

Zelda just gave him this look, a feminine kind of look that no mere man could ever attempt to interpret ate, "you just going to stand there?" she ask with biting sarcasm.

"...if I have to..." Link's mind was screaming the word IDIOT at the top of its mental capacity.

"well a map is little use to me if I know nothing about them."

"well..." he said looking right at her and leaning over the map again. And thus began a long involved conversation of the terrain and peoples shown on the map.

After a while the awkwardness seemed to leek out of the situation and each found them selves seated opposite each other pouring over the map Hyrule and nearly all of its neighboring lands ranging the farthest to the south and west.

"you sound like you've done this before." she was still looking down at the map.

"done what?" he leaned back into his seat. He watched how her long sheer bangs hung down both sides of her face, complimenting her strong cheek bones and gave her face a bright pixie like expression as her pale blue eyes darted about while reading the map.

He blinked in surprise as she answered his question, "giving reports, rather military style i might add." she looked with a questioning look.

"Oh well," he ran his fingers through his hair, "I have."

the look on the young queens face obviously asked him to expand on the subject.

"ummm," he started and pointed at a large country farthest to the south, "this is the country of Chokit." he began.. "about three years ago give or take a bit... it was having a civil war. Its safe to say the king was greedy bastard that enjoyed mass slaughter of his own people when he was displeased with them."

the queen give him a grim look as if this somehow she though the story could go down hill from there.

"well i got involved and eventually-"

"how'd that happen?" she asked curiously, resting her chin on his hands in an innocent gesture.

"I, um, got a, um captured." he admitted trying his best to look her straight in the eye. He hated to admit this more than that he once let a skull kid high jack his horse.

"really now? You?" she asked with a near chuckle.

He sucked in a breath through his teeth, "...yeh." he said reluctantly, "a group of rebells came through the next day and liberated the whole village. I joined up with them till they over threw the king, had nothing better to do really..."

"and this explains why you give good military reports about maps?"

"Gods you like your specifics..." he said crossing his arms.

She gave him a childish grin, "curiosity did nearly kill me more than once. You could probably say the same..."

he snorted at her and rolled his eyes, she gave him a reappraising look which he could make no sense off.

"well if you must know I was a scout." she nodded now, even though she had easily assumed as much.

"now..." it was her turn to lean back in her seat, "who is this little girl I saw earlier?"

"Molly?"

"well i would assume... if that the girl that was with you..."

"oh yeah...thats her. Bit of a...handful."

"do you always avoid direct questions," she said with coy grin seeming to be both slightly frustrated with him while still being amused.

He gave her a hard look and gave her his shit eating grin, "Yes I enjoy making it a habit of mine."

"well I'll ask again who is she?"

"do you want the specifics?"

"goddesses above...your just being an ass now aren't you!" she looked up in exasperation.

"I also make that a habit of mine..." he grinned broadly at her frustration, "and forgive a guy for resenting being interrogated."

She breathed a heavy sigh and there was a pregnant pause, "I apologize. I'm just...-"

" curios?" he added

"...perhaps, its hard to tell sometimes" at this she turned away from his slightly and tuck one strand of platinum bangs behind a long slender ear.

"now whose being the ass." he put both hands behind his head and waited for her rebuttal.

"did you just call me an ass?" she said looking back at him suddenly, her face was more surprised than injured.

"maybe, its hard to tell..."

"oh shut up you!" she said almost playfully kicking him lightly under the table, "i think i liked you better when you were quite...you were cuter then too..."

"I believe i may resent that," he said leaning back on the table top, his chin resting on one fist.

"well i honestly don't care at the moment," her grin betrayed her words, not something that happened to the queen often, "and if you haven't forgotten, i would like to know how a man like you came into the guardian ship of that little girl."

"with the specifics?" he was simple glared at in answer, he was starting to wonder why he had been so worried earlier, " if you get really technical, I'm her brother's godfather." she looked at him as if expecting more, "well her sister was a friend of mine... and she made me the godfather of her son, and they both died in the birth, so as godfather i got stuck with her sister."

"So let me get this straight," the pale eyed queen said doubtfully, "both her mother and father, sister and brother in law are dead?"

"unfortunately, the village couldn't afford to put up another mouth, the war had taken a lot out of the people, and her sister was the figure head during it...and well I was her second, So they thought it was most fitting and easiest on them if I took her..."

"the war? You brought her here all the way from that country Chokit?"

he shrugged, "had to come check on this place at least once didn't I?"

she gave him a wide eyed look as if he had answered an unasked question, " I suppose, but i always doubted you would come back at all..."

"thats what Naburo said..."

at this Zelda laughed, "of course _she_ did, I don't know a bigger pessimist."

he shrugged again, "what time is it?" he asked un expectantly.

"four thirty... why?"

"I promised Molly I'd be back for diner and well she has a tendency to get into trouble if i leave her alone for to long."

"the joys of parent hood?" she said darkly.

He blinked, he had never quite thought of himself as being her parent, "I suppose..."

"well its been good seeing you again so soon..." she said again with her coy knowing smile as he got up to leave.

he stood near the door and looked back at her, "its been longer for me... you can keep the map." and with that he left the room.

As soon as the door clicked behind him her smile slowly melted. Her face became a mask for the concerned thoughts whiling through her head. Slowly she began to chastised herself, she shouldn't have been so intergenerational or cynical, she knew she was better than that. The whole situation was awkward maybe if he had had a purpose in returning things would have been easier, instead he was hear simply there to 'check up on the place'.Zelda groaned and rubbed her temples, she hated events with no obvious purpose.

"They always make the future blurry..." she mumbled to herself, running the possibilities of his arrival through her mind with out much success.


	13. can't spell 13

She updated? GASP!

Heehee thats what your all thinking I supose... so chapter for you with cliffy-ish plot, If I haven't lost all of YOU to the long lack of updating! SOOOOORRY!

Quick important recap: a character that was desribed in detail in a past chapter is brought back here. Chapter six to be exactedededed .

okay you know the drill i own nothing, read if you want review if ya do! hope i didn't lose my whole audience! GULP!

---Chickadee--ch 13--

Molly stuffed another large croissant into her mouth and gave Link another calculating look. He hadn't even been angry when she came back wet from swimming and looking like a drowned rat. She sat cross legged on the puffy bed with a tray of breakfast stuffs. A little bowl of strawberries graced one corner of the tray, she picked one of the little fruits up and inspected it to quell her curiosity.

Link was brooding in one of the over stuffed chairs. In molly's opinion he looked deeper in thought than usual.

"Hey Chickadee?" he asked suddenly throwing his feet over the arm rest of his chair.

Molly blinked at him and continued to stare perplexedly at the strawberry, she finally put it down and answered when it seemed as if he wouldn't continue if she didn't, "What?"

He smiled, "what do you think of staying here, well, not here but like in one of those little villages..."

Molly stared at him as if he was a strawberry, "what do you mean stay?"

Link leaned back and ran a hand through his rich golden hair, "I can't believe i'm even thinking about this, " he said more to the ceiling than anything. He leaned forward and adressed her again," remember when you ask me every hour or so if we were there yet?"

Molly grinned a wide slightly demonic grin. She had nearly driven him nuts with that phrase, but had finally stopped asking coming to the conclusion they were never going to get there. She started nodding vigorously and popped the strawberry in her mouth.

"well were here now."

Molly hurried to swallow the deliciouses bit of fruit in her mouth, nearly choking, "What do you mean? I thought you wanted your horse, and then we were going some place else?" the poor girl looked boggled by the idea of not traveling.

Link just started laughing, "I didn't plan that far ahead."

"Why not?" she crossed her arms and glared. He was Link, he was supposed to know what was going to happen next. He shrugged. Molly had an unreadable feminine expression on her face, link stared at her, he always thought she was to young for one of those. "But your supposed to know whats going to happen next..." she paused not really wanting admit what she was going to say next, "Adults are supose to do those things..."

Link grinned, If he hadn't been reminded of that the night before he wouldn't even be considering what he was thinking. Zelda was right, He was the closest thing the girl had to a parental unit. It was time he guessed to start acting like it. It wasn't like he had any idea what he was going to do anyway, even if she wasn't there he would be wondering what he should do. "Well," he said finally after looking up at the ceiling and swinging his feet down from the arm rest and siting up straight in the chair, "Its not as if I don't know what we _can_ do."

Molly squiggled up her face in thought and popped another Strawberry in her mouth.

He stood up, "you want to help me with Epona?"

Molly gave him another calculating look and nodded, she grabbed another little red fruit out of the bowl and hopped off the bed.

He ruffled up her hair as he walked past her, "were do you fit all that food anyway?"

Molly glared and started smoothing down her long hair, "Don't DO that!" She complained loudly, ignoring his question.

Link opened the door and she scampered out ahead of him despite the aforementioned hair ruffling.

-------------------

Meanwhile in front of the gates of the castle.

A dark haired man crouched in front of the large metal gates of the Royal grounds. He stared stubbornly at the two guards, "please?" he asked plaintively.

The two guards gave each other the You-have-got-to-be-kidding-me look. "We already said no, with invitation only royal messengers may obtain an audience with the Queen."

the Ebony haired man stood up, he was much taller than either guards, probably around six foot four. He adjusted his mauve brown vest and glared at the guards with his piercing blue eyes.

"You..." he said pointing to each in turn, "Are going to let me in..."

"Or what?" the the guard on the left said snickering.

"Yeah why don't you and your frying pan go home," the other one added with an equal amount of snickering and pointing at the frying pan attached to the man's back.

The man glared a death look, and with a deft flick of his hand Slip the humongous frying pan of his back and swung it, stopping a hairs breath from one of the guards' face.

The nearly pummeled guard blinked at him and gave the the pan a frightened look.

The man smiled, "Why don't you tell your little princess up there that, Tavis ,Third oficer of the Chockit Army wishes her audience. Let her decide if she wants to give me an audience huh?" he threw the pan back over his shoulder and glared.

Both guards suddenly seemed to think that carrying his message would be a good idea.

Tavis took a seat on the dusty road, "I sure as hell hope this was a good idea." he mumbled as he watched the guards hurry up to the castle.

He sat there playing with the hem of his breeches for over a half hour before some one returned to the gate.

A whole platoon marched toward the gate, and separated into two lines. A well dressed man in black coat tails walked between them. Tavis stood up as two guard broke off from the battalion and opened the gate.

"The Queen Wishes you in her audience immediately," the well dressed balding man told him curtly, walking towards him.

This had not been what the young soldier had expected and shook his ebony head slowing with slight disbelief. He had thought it would be more difficult to deliver his message. Perhaps Hyrule really was the way he had been lead to believe.

He followed the balding man with a quick pace and the platoon clanked along behind them.

-----------------

Link stood with one of Epona's large legs under his arm, and her hoof on his knee. He picked carefully at her hoof, with his pick, carefully chiseling down the hoof so the shoes would have the best fit.

Epona twitched, and Link nearly dropped the pick. He readjusted the hoof in his grasp and began again.

Epona twitched again and this time knocking the pick out of his hand, "MOLY! Stop distracting her!"

Molly giggled and let the large warhorse finish off the oats in her hands, "but she was hungry," The girl said with a mocking grin.

Shes always hungry..." he said with a groan as he went back to picking her hooves, "Just pet her head and talk to her, so she doesn't kick me in the face."

Molly giggled again, "and we wouldn't want that would we..." she said imitating him like a glee full parrot.

The large war horse had taken an unexpected liking to the small girl, and nuzzled her large head against molly's shoulders. The horse's head alone dwarfed the small girl.

"I think she likes me," She said as she returned the war horse's attention by scratching her ear.

"She's gotten soft then," He said as he dropped Epona's foot to the ground. The Horse stamped it experimentally and seemed satisfied, "Back in the day she'd eat little girls as soon as let them pet her."

"Oh shut up, your just a lying bastard."

"How would you know?" he asked picking up one of the back feet and beginning the process again.

"It doesn't take long to figure it out..." she said still giving most of her attention to the horse.

She couldn't see it but link was grinning like a chesser cat, most people said he was a horrible lier.

Just at this moment a a rather pale butler came scurrying into the stables, his whole demeanor the a fussy seizure of anxiety.

"Sir! Sir!...Mister Link, sir?"

Link could hear the butler huffing and puffing over his shoulder as he picked at Epona's hoof.

"Link? I think he means you," Molly said, just barely visible as she peeked around the horse at him and the afore mentioned servant. The Butler yammered for a moment at the sight of such a large horse and the fact that such a small girl was attending its lead.

"Really now?" He said with out looking up from the hoof.

Molly scrunched her face up with pretend thought to hide her grin as the butler started to hoping from one foot to the other nervously, "...Yep, you might want to talk to him before he pisses himself."

Link released a great sigh, and with a few last picks at the hoof released the horses appendage, "Well, we can't have that, now can we."

Molly giggled, "can I walk her to the stall?" she asked, obviously referring to the mare. Link nodded.

"You just going to stand there or what?" he asked the butler as he stood there wringing his hands together.

"her majesty wishes your presence in her waiting room, she says it is most urgent!" he blurted over dramatically.

"Lead away then," Link said with a nod. The butler scurried off ahead of him and out of the stables. He turned back around as molly scampered around the corner, "I'll be back," he said to her simply and slipped out the stable doors after the butler.

--------

Tavis stood in the grand throne room, surrounded by the grandeur and fineness of white marble pillars and rich purple tapestries. He felt oddly out of place and nerve use as all hell. He was tapping his toe idly and eying up the guard flanking both sides of the hall when the queen appeared.

He blinked at her, she was not what he had expected a queen to look like. She was dressed simply, he'd seen lesser nobles dress ten times as extravagantly. Some how she remained ravishing. Zelda crossed quickly to her throne and crossed her legs as she sat and gave him an imperial look.

When she did not say anything he cleared his throat, put his bare feet together and gave a military style bow, " I am Tavis ,former Third officer of the Chockit Army. I come her with a warning and a message."

Zelda frowned. Tavis wrung his hand together nervously behind his back. "Continue," she ordered flatly.

Tavis cleared his throat again, "I come with the warning that the Chockit high counsel has dissolved and that the nation is back on the war path, and slowly heading north. The new leader of the high council is bound and determined to locate strong hammer's heir and is strategising to start a puppet monarchy."

The Queen's face was a calm neutral. This information would have been of little concern if it was not for the present circumstances.

"I know this does not immediately concern your country and I am extremely gratefully to have obtained your audience. I myself am looking for the heir..." he paused hesitantly for a moment, " my real message your highness is for a man named Link. He left me under the impression that he was personally acquainted with you."

Zelda kept her face rigidly neutral, "Excuse me," she said curtly standing suddenly and taking short graceful steps to the small door behind her throne.

"WAIT!" he yelled stumbling forward across the great hall, "do you know how far i've come? you can't just leave!" all airs of political protocol left the young man as he shouted at the queen.

Tavis visibly winced as he heard the guards behind shuffle their weapons.

Zelda put a hand on her hip and said to him as she would a small child, "I'm coming back."

"Oh..." he said softly taking a step back with a little bow. Zelda then disappeared though the concealed door.

He stood there for what seemed to be an uncomfortable eternity. the marble stone floor was cold on his bare feet and he was ever sifting his footing. Finally a nervous and puffing butler came clopping towards him from the somewhat secretive door behind the throne.

"her majesty said I am to accompany you to a drawing room," the butler proclaimed proudly.

Tavis scrunched up his face with a questioning look, "Eeeh...why?" he asked with a quirky hand jester.

"because her majesty says so! Why else!" the butler exclaimed looking at him as if he didn't contained any sort of logic at all. The young messenger gave the numerous guards in the grand throne room a shifty and doubtfully look. He finally acquiesced with a shrug and followed the butler back through the door behind the throne.

Tavis soon found out why the butler was always puffing and blowing. The butlered scurried down the halls and stairs with such speed as to make any one out of breath. The butler stopped abruptly in front of a door and threw it open.

"yes well I'm not very sure what he meant by heir but-" Zelda turned in mid-sentence as the door swung open.

"holly shit..." Tavis smirked at the remark as the the princesses blond companion strode toward him, " how the hell did you get here? And when the hell did you grow!" Link said coming to a stop in front of him looking up ever so slightly at the taller man.

"Nice to see you too," Tavis said with the same little cocky smirk.

Zelda watched the two commence the male greeting ritual of hand clasping back patting with a frown. By her reckoning the strange man's arrival had only managed to compound and complicate the mater at hand. Her brow furrowed in thought, maybe the events at hand were not so purposeless, perhaps the time lines would become more clear.


	14. fourteen

WOW I UPDATED! woot...I haven't updated since when? iunno, don't liek to think about it! this has actualy been typed up and ready to go all but for the last sentensce for months...don't hurt me. so yes finaly...we get tothe plot o.o, so read if youwant, review if you do...i'm sooooooooo sorry by the way...but now one will prolly read this cause of my lack of updatung .

"goddess," Link said, "I haven't seen you since…since…." Link trailed off and he frowned.

"Since the funeral," Tavis filled in his sentence somberly. Link nodded and the momentary cheeriness of his old comrade's arrival vanished.

Zelda stood behind them, leaning on her desk. She knit her eyebrows together half in thought and half annoyed, she disliked not knowing the whole story.

"I have a feeling I'm not going to like why you're here?" Link said after a quiet moment.

"No, your not," the dark haired messenger said flatly looking down momentarily at his lack of shoes, "And as you can tell, it wasn't all sunsets and fairies getting here."

Link snorted, "last time I saw you, you were sitting pretty in the imperial fortress, and complaining about it I might add."

Tavis rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably at the remark, "this is going to be a long story…."

"I want to hear the whole thing," Zelda said, moving herself to a sitting position on her desk. The two men turned to look at her

"Starting where?" Tavis asked in a dignified way, his clumsy and awkwardness seemed to have melted away.

"Were ever you need to start for what you told me to make any sense at all," her tone was ruthlessly demanding. Tavis only nodded.

"What did you tell her?" Link asked suspiciously.

"It can wait," Zelda answered for him as he opened is mouth to answer. Link glared at her but her face remained that same neutral mask.

"Alright, well about fifty years ago the king of Chockit died. I was probably some secret coup de ta." He said with an off handed motion. "after that a series of regencies were set in place because the king had had no heir and the lower nobles were just falling over them self to take the throne," Tavis stood addressing her with his hands clasped behind his back the way one of her advisors or guards would report to her. "Finally one noble ascended to the throne, he wasn't much of leader. He was in it for the wealth. He was brutal, and his laws were unreasonable. When I was nine my father was executed for not being able to our taxes, and after, my sister was taken away to the imperial fortress as payment. That sort of thing was common then. And the people didn't to stand for it very long"

Zelda noted that his expression never changed as he spoke what she knew were painful words.

"It was a few years later that the resistance army appeared, it was lead by one of the escaped palace girls, of all things," Tavis was grinning now, " Her name was Jasmine, though most know her as strong hammer. Eventually we over threw the throne and set up the high council."

"I see," Zelda said crossing the room, "Where does this heir come into play?"

Link frowned again, "Jasmine died in childbirth, both her and her child."

"Then there isn't an heir? Come now you two make some sense," Zelda said with curiosity dripping unconcealed from every word. Though in a deeper part of her mind became concerned about the father of said child.

"Molly is her sister," Link said with a flat expression.

"She named link the god father as half a joke," Tavis explained, "and after her death, well, I'm not sure how but……"

"The villagers insisted that as godfather of her child I was her guardian." Link said just as flatly.

"Oh come on Blondie, you're wonderful with children!" Tavis burst out unexpectedly, "you should hear the way this fellow can spin a tale, giant spiders, magic songs and swords you should hear him, if you ever managed to get him drunk enough that is."

"Really now?" Zelda quirked an eyebrow and gave link a knowing glance, the blonde's face was going a quaint shade of scarlet. He fervently wished he hadn't mentioned that.

Tavis chuckled, "Anyways," He continued, "I was voted to lead the high council not long after Blondie vanished, I was um…..how should I say this……"

"You were on the high council?" Link asked incredulously

"I lead it!" Tavis said with a rueful smile, "till about six months ago……"

"Let me guess……" link rolled his eyes, "you failed miserably and it dissolved?"

"No….maybe. I was run out in the middle of the night by a small army of assassins…the indignity of it! I was in the bath for kami's sake! What was I supposed to do? Alls I know is who ever is in charge now is looking for the pipsqueak and is no better than the bastard we over threw" the messenger and ex-leader of the chockit nation shrugged to show his helplessness in the situation.

Link heaved a heavy sigh, "how hard are they looking?"

"They're on the war path, and they're winning. The nation had doubled in size before I reached the mountains. I have no doubt that delegates will be sent here with in the year, attack is unlikely I might add," he said turning to the queen.

"Between the desert and the mountains I would think so." Zelda then calmly asked, "What do you expect us to do?"

Tavis shrugged, " I hadn't thought that far ahead, I was hopping the second officer of our army would know?" Tavis snapped Link a mock salute.

"You expect me to think ahead?" Link asked, his mind was spinning. His entire half thought out plans for the future went swirling into oblivion. He had thought these kinds of things were over.

"You're his commanding officer?" Zelda asked watching the messenger relax his salute.

"Second in command," he said off handedly, "But that's another story though."

Zelda shook her head, there was just so much she didn't know about him anymore, and she knew so very little about the future and what she saw of it worried her. She sighed and looked at each man in turn, "I really don't see that there's much that can be done about it at the moment, and I need to…think …about all this" she said thoughtfully getting off the table and walking toward the door.

The two men stood silently in study watching her converse with the butler.

"Molly is still with you, isn't she?" Tavis asked a little nervously.

"Of course, you think I'd just ditch her some place?" Link said casually with half a smirk.

"No……..well maybe, I had to check." he said honestly shrugging again.

"I've got a question?" Link said after a moment of studding him, "what the hell is up with the frying pan?"

Tavis burst into laughter, making Zelda and the butler turn to stare at him, " I told you it wasn't all sun sets and fairies getting here, had to trade the old battle axe to get passage across that little inland sea."

Link shook his blond head; Tavis had never made much sense, "So you replaced it with a frying pan?"

Tavis shrugged, "Its close enough, don't cha think?" Link shook his head, half amused half disbelieving, it was just like old times, he thought grimly. He hadn't changed at all.

"Sirs," the butler said clearing his throat, "her majesty has instructed me to show our new guest to his quarters." He finished with a bow.

"oh lucky me…" tavis mocked, "Well, link," he slap his back, "its very good to know that not all your stories came out your ass. Whole time I was on my way her I was worried you mad the whole place up."

"It was all true," Was all link dared to say under the gaze of the queen.

The butler cleared his throat again in impatience; "Lead away!" tavis said with mock regality and followed the butler out.

Zelda was slightly bemused but the way the two had bantered and slightly concerned, there was so much she didn't know. He really wasn't the same person she had known. Link gave her a quick nod and a wave, which she returned, and followed his old friend out the door.

"How's the wine here?" she heard the bare foot messenger say loudly, "It better be good!" She heard links reply but not the words of it; she stood up straight and moved towards a window, crossed her arms and set herself to thinking.


	15. fifteen and still kicking

So this chapter had been sitting half done for over a year and a half. So here it is if one cares. Its beeeeen soooo long. My writing will either be better or worse. I'm committed to finishing this. I promised myself I would finish my other fanfic by the time I graduate but that's not going to happen so I'll try with this one. I stopped because I wasn't sure how my plot would be accepted, but to hell with it I'll do it. Its going to get a hella OC. All recurring that have already been introduced. The farm boy, the thief and palace children will be returning eventually. Playing twilight princess made me remember this story . .love that game. So Tell me if your reading, Read if you want, review if ya do!!! Sorry for shortness as always.

---Chickadee--- chapter 15

Molly sat on the end of the overly fancy bed and watched the two men, who were drinking and laughing by the fire.

Tavis laughed, "Remember, remember…when, and then he…oh … Kami" he dissolved into laughter before he got the words out. Link laughed right along with him, enjoying himself. Link didn't drink often and was the odd type who got the giggles. Molly usually found this amusing, but not tonight

When Link brought Tavis back to his room she had pretended she hadn't remembered him. He had smiled pleasantly, commented on how she resembled her sister and how it was good to see that Link had taken good care of the 'pipsqueak' and left her alone. He didn't seem to mind that she had forgotten. She hadn't really.

He was taller than she remembered, He had been shorter than link and had all ways seemed to follow him every where. He made her think about her sister. She had never realized what it was her sister was doing till she was older. She never questioned why they had secret meetings in their father's old forge. She remembered how she use to sit under the little table and play. It was always links or Tavis's shoes she would tie together. She never paid attention to what was said then, until Jasmine, in a fit of rage gave an irate rant about how many people she'd killed and how many more she'd have to and how she wouldn't let that stop her, and the revolution was what really mattered. She couldn't remember what it had all been about, only that every one had started arguing at once. That's when she realized that the revolution that was always talked about was really just her sister and few others hanging around in the forge. That's all she had ever thought they had been doing.

Her sister was dead. Just like the men in the alleyway. She didn't like Tavis for some reason. She had this feeling that some how he would ruin every thing, Like how people slowly went missing form the old table in the forge, and no one would talk about them or explain it. Until her sister, Death had been a vague enigma in her life, even though the streets were full off it. And until the day before in the alley with the thief, it had still been something abstract. Were people just went away and weren't talked about.

She pulled her knees up and rested her chin on them, Link was telling a story she'd heard before. She finally curled up on the bed and pulled out the neat pocket watch with the little black caped bird painted delicately on the back. She stared at it and let it glint in the light and fell asleep to the laughter of the two reunited men.

It was a while later when the two men calmed down, and began more concrete and structured conversations.

"You know," Tavis said looking over at the little brunette girl asleep on the bed, "not every man can take of child like you have, and a little girl at that."

Link shrugged, "what was I supposed to do?"

Tavis chuckled, "leave her with a nice family somewhere? I don't know…" he said playfully and with a slight slur. Tavis loved his wine.

"She would have just followed me, I'm sure of it." He said into his cup, he'd thought about doing it before. But he was glad he hadn't, having her around was by far one of the more bizarre twists his life had ever taken.

Tavis put down his glass and looked hard at the blond. It was typical Chockit maners, wine first, business later. Link was dreading this, and hopped he wouldn't say what he though.

"I'm really sorry to have to ask you this, but you were there from the beginning." He said with a mix of somber and persuasive tones. Link's insides ran cold, he was going to ask what he thought he would. "I f it hadn't been for you," Tavis continued, "I never would have made it through it… I was just a kid…so were you" He admitted with a strange expression.

Link just looked at him and remembered the first time he had set eyes on him. Tavis had been an awkwardly skinny apprentice for Jasmine and molly's father. 'It's so strange…' Link mused, forgetting the impending question for a moment, 'I didn't feel like one."

Tavis had only been a year younger than him, and at fourteen, when the two met, link had been more mature looking of the two. In fact he had finished growing before sixteen. It had been something that had pleasantly surprised him. Travis on the other hand had been a late bloomer in the height department, and had in fact grown quite a bit since he had seen him last.

"I need your help," the words left Tavis's mouth reluctantly, like old molasses.

Link shut his eyes, it had taken so long to get there, and with those words he shattered the false hope his arrival had created. He should have expected something like this to happen.

"Don't be like that, you wouldn't be like that if it was Jasmine asking you," Tavis accused him.  
"Yes, I would." He said sullenly, a silence passed between the two of them. Link started thinking about the night he had rounded a corner in a small city and had escaped palace girl had crashed into him. He wondered what would have happened if she never escaped at all, or if he hadn't been there to mislead the guards while she hid in the shadows. From that night on he had been wrapped in her crusade. And he didn't regret that. He thought sullenly to his first real mass war battle, and how he had promised to finished what she had started if she died.

"Do you think any one would support us?" Link asked finally, making his dreadful decision to help. He realized now that if there was anyone else Tavis could have asked he wouldn't have come all this way to find him.

Tavis gave a weak smile, "has that ever stopped us? They called you the one man army for a reason, link."

Link heaved one of those sighs, "I just thought…I was just hopping that…"

"I'm sorry…. It took you a lot longer to get here than me. And now I'm asking you to leave," Tavis was looking at his bare feet.

Link just shook his head as if to say that hopes were just hopes and it was nothing to be guilty about. Then Tavis changed the subject, to funny things that had happened in their time together; which was infact quite a list. By the end of the night Tavis had even managed to recount his journey to Hyrule. By the end of it the two men were passed out in the arm chairs.

Molly awoke the next morning, and after a thorough poke to links unresponsive face started putting on her shoes. She laced them up and disappeared out of the small room, she hoped she would run into the castle children she had seen earlier. She found herself in the castles winding gardens, just roaming. She fingered the little pocket watch in her pants pocket and remembered the little thief who saved her. The events no longer disturbed her young mind the way they had. She vaguely wondered if she'd see that particle thief again. She took a seat on a bench and flipped the shinny treasure around in the sunlight, making it glint. For a ten year old she had a lot on her mind, between the events of the pocket watch and thief, and Tavis remaining her of her old home and her sister she was occupied.

"Mind if I join you?" The small girl jumped at the soft feminine voice behind her. She looked up at the tall fair woman; she was almost ungodly pretty in the young girls view, though she wore a simple, common looking light blue sundress that matched her eyes.

"I guess so…" she said not sure what else to say.

The women took a seat, "you like the gardens too?" she asked affably.

"I guess so." She repeated looking back down at her pocket watch.

"What's that?" the women asked unperturbed.

"mine." She said grabbing it up quickly in both fists.

The women laughed, "You're a silly little one, how old are you."

"ten." She answered curtly. For some reason this woman gave her the same feeling of disease as Tavis's arrival had, the same feeling that like Tavis she would have some hand in something going wrong. She'd gotten the same feeling when Jazmyn had explained she was pregnant all that time ago.

"My name's Zelda, and yours is…"

"Molly."

"I believe you know a friend of mine? His name is Link?" she asked with a pleasant smile still on her lips.

"Oh. Are you his friend he came to see," she asked, slightly curios now.

"Well yes, I suppose you could say that, I was wondering actually… if you could tell me more about yourself, before you started traveling here"

The women's voice sounding like she had just taken of a mask and decided to show her true reasons for coming. It made her feel uncomfortable in a way that made all her usual hostilities catch in her throat and found it hard to assert herself.

"You just want to know about link, you don't give a damn about me." The women look taken aback by the soft mumbled words, as if struck. She opened her mouth to speak a couple of times and the queen wondered again if this was the right course of action.

"We all have our motives," She said a sweet smiling playing across her face as she sat besides him, "I have not seen him since I was you age, I've missed him," she said honestly hoping this would quell her hostilities.

"He fought a war," Molly snapped.

"He told me," She said patiently.

Molly stayed tight lipped.

"Its alright to upset," Zelda said with sudden gush of real sympathy she hated having to be deceiving to get information.

Molly gave her a disgusted look, the woman just couldn't stick to one tactic, "I changed my mind, I do mind if you sit with me," The girl said standing up quickly.

Zelda gapped again, for a woman she was having a hard time dealing with a child. Zelda sighed; the girl was obviously upset; she would have to tread carefully in the maters with Link to come.

Molly stormed off trying not to cry. I lesser little girl already would have curled up somewhere to do so. She didn't want to stay here and she didn't want to leave, she didn't want link to leave her there. She sat down hidden in the gardens a way off and pulled the little dagger out of her boot and stabbed it into the cultivated lawn of the royal gardens. She stabbed the fertile greenness to death and till her arm hurt. She sat panting ready to cry. The thoughts of the two troubling situation kept mixing together, 'What if link dies?' she thought with a horrified squeak, 'What if Tavis kills him?' she thought even more outrageously and horrified. She wiped the hot tears that were now falling away. Dark was falling and the cold was seeping up from the ground and into her flesh. She stood finally after her hours of hiding and headed back to 'Their' room. Link wasn't there when she arrived; Just a note that stated, "Stay out of trouble, I'll be back". The fire had been started and the bed made by some unknown maid. The room seemed untouched and sterile and too perfect. She crawled up into one of the big overstuffed chairs and held her knees to her chest.

She'd nearly nodded off when she jumped at the sound of the door closing. Linked stood there looking very unhappy. Link opened his mouth to say something and molly just knew it wouldn't be good, she just knew and started to sob before he even laid out the bad news and his decision for the their future.


	16. sixteen hurray!

((authors note: sorry for taking so long to write this. I was very…hesitant to go ahead with my planned plot. Things might get a bit oc-ish after this chapter. Sorry for shortness once again. Please REVIEW! I really need feed back, I think the end seems a little forced.)

---Chickadee ch16-----

Link about changed his mind right there as he stood in the door frame of the room. She looked like he was about to beat her senseless. And in a way he supposed that was exactly what he was about to force himself to do.

"Molly…" He said carefully feeling as though he might as well be addressing a dangerous snake.

She started to sniffle as soon as she heard him call her by name instead of chickadee. This pathetic little bird reaction was not what he had expected, but then again she was just a little girl.

"I have to leave for a while…" he explained with lack luster as he watched her face get progressively red.

"NO!" she shouted furiously, suddenly snapping to anger the way he had expected at first.

"I'm sorry but I have to…" he said moving forward and shutting the door behind him.

"No you don't!!" she cried.

He was silent, unable to respond for a moment.

She stared at him angry through her watered up eyes.

"I have to…" he tried again, coming closer to sit on the edge of the foot of the bed. She inched away.

"NO, you said- You said!-" she pounded the bed angrily. He had told her a lot of things, that they would stop traveling once in Hyrule, he had even in his promise sings told her she could have one of Epona's foals eventually. And now he pulled all those stable domestic possibilities out of the air and crashed them.

How had he gotten himself into such a tenuous mess? He gave the girl a hard look, giving himself a hard unappealing revaluation. Had he really taken it seriously? He'd been nonchalant about the situation, it hadn't been as hard to take care of a child as he had expected. He didn't really have much to go honestly, kakari forest hadn't been exactly abounding with parental figures of the grown variety. He knew what it was like to be ten though, though not all ten year olds had to the save the world…

"I owe it to Tavis. I owe it to your sister…"he tried to justify himself with weak inner conviction, but his voice was firm, "I know its taken a long time but-"

He was struck with very terrible effective lie.

"I never intended to stay, Molly. This is a safe place for you, Its what's best for you." artificial forced words that surprised him. Why did he want to go so bad? Didn't he owe Her more than this?

He shut his eyes and put his fingers to the bridge of his nose. He just couldn't see it. Every day, every step of travel he taken he could see it. Peace, quiet, a comfortable pseudo parent hood, a small farming town….and now that he was here: Poof. It seemed some how still unobtainable, slightly wrong. This almost mechanistic urge to walk another thousand miles all the while hoping and wishing for something at the other end filled him. It was ineffable and the more he tried to wrap his fingers around the faster it faded away from his grasps. It wasn't from lack of love of his charge or any real desire to go risk his life for strangers. Was it goals? No, he could reach goals fine. Long term goals? No he put his mind on something and it was his. Commitment? Well he'd come this far. Finishing what he started? Well usually other people started and he finished. No, no and no. Endings, satisfying endings. Nothing had ever gone his way in the end of things. All the efforts, hardship, weird traumatizing events he had had to go through and all he'd gotten as thanks, was a trip back in time and caught up in war that had nothing to do with him. He was sabotaging himself and he didn't realize it.

"YOUR NOT MY FATHER!! YOU DON'T KNOW WHATS BEST FOR ME!" the screamed words of rage knocked him out of his self deprivation and he looked up, shocked. He shouldn't have been shocked. What had he expected her to do? Just accept it and mope off? She stormed out like a miniature hurricane, tripping along the way.

He sat at the end of that bed for a long while, elbows limply propped on knees, head hung. His boots seemed to be of great interest to him as Zelda appeared at the door frame. So softly she watched he hardly heard. So softly he almost didn'y look up with his red shot drunkard eyes.

-----------------

"I told you." he said for the third time now, "I made up my mind. I am fine"

"I'm just saying you look pretty damn pissy," Tavis said double checking the bags to the large white stallion the castle was permanently loaning him.

"I told you, Molly just didn't take it well, is all….bit disconcerting."

Tavis gave a bit of a sigh, "Ready then?" he swung up into the saddle.

"As I ever will be." he said with more meaning than his comrade interpreted. Several days had not lessened molly's uncontrollable rage to come out of 'hiding' long enough to say good bye. He had a feeling, a very bad one, that it was something that would eat at him for a good time to come. But, he had asked two very large favors and he was sure, very sure that it was the very best for her. Link attracted trouble, and as much as he longed for some sort of peace in his life, he had come to the conclusion that it was something destined for him.

And his heart was heavy with the revelation.

-------

"Link?" he small voice was like the coo of a dove, soft yet inexplicably audible in the morning light. The door groaned behind her as she entered. "Link….?' she asked again. The door shut. She stared at the empty room, too neat to have been lived in recently. She had spent the last three days hiding in the hay loft of different stables and stealing from the kitchens. She'd spent most of her time crying, but then the thrill of staying hidden had entertained her.

She treaded softly across the room. His back pack was gone. She ran quickly to the bed and threw up the dust ruffle, his boot weren't there, and no stray sock. She ran to the drawers in a panic and pulled them open nearly falling on her rear end, Both his and her clothes they had been borrowing had vanished.

"No." she gasped, "nononononono…"

She fled the room, running at full tilt on her short legs to the stable. She skidded on the hay cover coble as she entered the building. The sun was to bright and soft smell of horse too comforting for the panic that was swelling in her small chest.

The stall was empty and the hot tight feeling increased. She checked every stall, but the big war horse was gone.

Maybe she wasn't too late. She ran out into the court yard. Nothing. Her heart pounding like war drum, she sped toward the rampart stairs. She tripped dup the stairs going up the to large steps. Her feet thumping painfully on the stone. She nearly ran into the stone wall, catching herself and standing on tip toe. Castle town was spread before her. Only an old cart approaching the gate.

Gone.

She turned her back to the ramparts and slide down till she was sitting with her knees up to her chest. She covered her head with her hands. At age ten her heart was breaking for the first time.

----

Night had snuck up on her. And as she peeked up from her protective shield of arms and legs, the soft glow of the sunset was disappearing.

"He's good at disappearing and breaking hearts."

She gasped and pushed her self away and twisting to se the phantom voice above her.

"Boo." the corner of the young man's lip curling up was barely visible, "He broke the princess's heart once, too."

She sat back a bit bewildered as the blond cat like man with the red eye looked down at her, with the same coy al knowing look that had annoyed her some much on the princess's face. But there was a spark of something wild in this look, something that wasn't in the ruling princess's expression.

"who are you?"

He smirked, "why should you care?" he said with a light almost feminine voice.

She glared angrily, "because I'm talking to you! and… and your wearing a very silly tunic!"

H made a face and looked down at the front of the purple tunic, "You shouldn't disrespect the evil eye," he moved from half crouch to a sitting position, "its always watching."

She stared with big brown eyes a little startled.

"Link told me that I better look out for you… I'm not very thrilled." he siad with a lofty tone.

"then DON'T!!" she yelled, the fire of abandonment and betrayal still burning in her wet eyes.  
He sighed, "but a promise is a promise, besides what do you intend to do now little bird?"

"I-" she hadn't thought about it

"Exactly, you don't plan to stay here?" he said with a tilt of his head, his blond hair moving to reveal his other red eye.

"I-…I-guess not." she said meekly. She felt trapped by the red orbs set in his face, a disconcerting half force trust was creeping into her opinion of him. She shook her head hard but the feeling was not dispelled.

"Be up here with your things at night fall." he said with a commanding sternness, "The way through the night will be revealed. Fear not the future for you are steadfast hands." he ended in a strangely juxtaposed poetic verse.

Molly continued to stare, utterly confused and still horribly hurt. There was a bright flash and resounding crack. She looked away, and as the blinding light subsided the strange young man was gone.

"What…the hell…was that." she asked the thin air. She pounded her fists down on the ramparts were the stranger had just disappeared from. Tears were still stinging in her eyes.

"That BASTARD!" she screamed. Not sure if she was referring to the stranger or Link. She didn't care. She listened to her angry voice echo. She rested her chin on her hands after a moment. She really didn't know what to do. He'd really had gone and left her. There was no way she was staying in the palace with that phony insincere princess that gallivanted around as queen. Zelda had not made a very good impression with the child.

She pushed back form the ramparts, "I don't need any ones help." she said softly and defiantly. If link was going to leave her, then fine. But she was not just going to go along with his plan to leave her in some strangers care. Yes she was going to pack her stuff up, but no she was not going to meet her new keeper on the ramparts. The young girl marched determinedly down the rampart steps.


End file.
